Sketch Plan
RENDERS’ RUINS
Valley of Ruins
Middle Section
On the rock floor the following “finds” were made: Twenty pieces of beaten gold and gold wire, a few gold beads, amounting altogether to 3 ozs. In the yellowish soil above the floor and at a depth of 4 ft. Arabian glass with arabesque patterns most delicately engraved, beautifully glazed pottery of white clay with different bevels on the edges, and sunken designs under the glazes which are both sea-green and a delicate shade of forget-me-not blue, also very thin china of white clay with rich deep blue-and-gold enamel, also some minutely thin green glass, a large soapstone bowl, a fine copper chain, and some other pottery of excellent make and covered with green glaze, which has the appearance of being ancient or certainly of being of very antique character. On the upper level was found half a hundred-weight of twisted iron wire in coils ready to be cut off in lengths for bangles. The coils were fused together. Coils of fine brass wire similarly fused, over 200 ivory and glass beads unrecognisable by local natives, two pairs of double iron gongs, brass bangles, large cakes of copper, crucibles used for smelting copper, and two hundred-weight of hoes, axes, and chisels far superior in make to those of the Makalanga of to-day. The local natives examined this last class of “finds” with much wonderment. There was a total absence of articles of modern native make.
There is overwhelming evidence that during the last two periods of occupations of this enclosure it was most extensively occupied as a copper and iron-smelting place.
On the outer side of the south wall is a remarkable instance of the silting of the soil from higher ground. The depth of soil on the south face of the wall is at least 5 ft., and this has been washed into its present position by the rainstorms of many years. The triangular space formed by the wall and the sloping granite rock was thus filled in for a length of fully 70 ft.
There are no signs of any entrances into this enclosure except on the north-east side, where there is a long gap in the wall.
No. 2 Enclosure.—This is situated due west of No. 1 Enclosure. Its area, which is square save on the south side where it slightly rounds outwards, is 30 ft. by 20 ft. The débris from the high east wall of No. 3 Enclosure has almost filled it up to the summit of its walls. Nothing of any antiquarian value was found here, but the examination work was only partial. This enclosure probably acted as a passage-way from the North-East Passage to Nos. 1 and 5 Enclosures, and possibly towards the Lower Section of “The Valley of Ruins.”
No. 3 Enclosure.—The plan of this enclosure, which lies directly west of No. 2 Enclosure, is almost circular save that its north-east wall is slightly squared. The area is 39 ft. from north to south, and 36 ft. from east to west. The walls are exceedingly massive, some being 7 ft. wide at base and 5 ft. wide on the present summit at 7 ft. from the ground. They are obviously of better construction than any of the other walls of these ruins.
On the summit of the south wall are the remains of a banquette wall still 4 ft. long and 4 ft. high, which makes the total height of the wall at this point 11 ft. There is only one entrance, which is on the north-west, is rounded, and has portcullis grooves.
This enclosure has not as yet yielded any article of an antique character, but modern native articles are practically absent.