No. 1 RUINS
Zimbabwe
The main or outer wall of these ruins runs for 185 ft. from the west entrance on the west side of the building round in a curve outwards towards the west-north-west, north, and north-east. There are three short gaps in the northern portion of the wall. On the whole, the greater portion of the wall is still in a fairly good condition, it being from 12 ft. to 15 ft. high above the outside level of the bed-rock on which its foundations are laid. The wall is practically plumb as compared with the main wall of the Elliptical Temple, besides being angular at the entrances. It is 4 ft. wide at 6 ft. above the outside level, but the north-western side is slightly wider. The wall, though substantially constructed, does not show great evenness of courses, while the sizes of the blocks vary considerably. Near the west entrance it is very poorly built, while the wall on the opposite side of the passage is excellently constructed. Possibly this indifferently built portion was repaired at a much later date. It is on this wall that grew the tall aloes and large euphorbia trees, some of which have recently been removed. The north and north-east portions of the wall, being built upon the edge of the declivity, tend to give the wall a more imposing appearance, while its elevated position commands a splendid view of “The Valley of Ruins.” The large mound on the north side of the north-west entrance is soil débris brought by explorers from the interior of the ruins in 1892.
Three entrances pass through this wall, on the west, north-west, and north sides.
The west entrance is 2 ft. 6 in. to 3 ft. wide, the west side wall being 4 ft. to 5 ft. high, and the east side 5 ft. to 7 ft. high. The entrance walls are plumb and angular. There are no buttresses on either side, and no portcullis groves. The entrance leads into Enclosure A, but there are traces of a wall which runs across the inside at a short distance, and might have been that of a sort of vestibule to Enclosure A. Immediately on the outside of this entrance there is a passage between the outer face of the main wall on the east side and the east wall of Enclosures W X Y Z on the west side, and this passage, which is 46 ft. long, 3 ft. 6 in. wide and has the west side wall 5 ft. high, actually forms part of the entrance. At 31 ft. from the north end of the passage there is one side of a rounded entrance into Enclosure Y. There are no traces of steps having been built here.
The north-west entrance was evidently the main entrance. It is the largest and best-constructed of all these entrances. It has a banquette wall on either hand in the interior, also a strongly built vestibule with entrances into Enclosures C and D, and opposite the entrance on the outside are walls of other ruins.
It is 3 ft. 6 in. wide, 7 ft. long, and the walls on either side are only 6 ft. high, but they rise sharply to the level of the general line of summit of the wall. Three feet of the length of the entrance on the east side are formed by the end of the banquette wall, but on the west side the banquette wall is only about 16 in. wide. The entrance is angular and plumb and has portcullis grooves. This is the only instance so far discovered where a completely angular entrance has portcullis grooves, also the only instance where the main or, indeed, any outer entrance has such grooves, except the north entrance to this ruin, which is partly angular and partly rounded. There is no indication that this entrance was once covered in.
Immediately on the inside of this entrance is a small enclosure which served as a vestibule and as an approach to enclosures C and D. This is 9 ft. long, 6 ft. wide, and the walls are from 5 ft. to 8 ft. above the paved floor which was destroyed some years ago. At the west end there is a passage 4 ft. 4 in. long and 2 ft. 10 in. wide with angular sides leading into Enclosure C, the walls on either side being 4 ft. to 5 ft. high. At the east end of this vestibule is a passage 9 ft. long and 2 ft. 10 in. wide leading to Enclosure D, the walls on either side being 5 ft. to 7 ft. high.
The north entrance opens into Enclosure D at its north-east corner. It is angular on the outside but rounded on the inside. It is 2 ft. 10 in. wide, 4 ft. 6 in. long, and the walls on either side are now only from 3 ft. to 5 ft. high. There are portcullis grooves in the rounded portions of the side walls. The entrance does not pass through the wall at right angles, but obliquely towards the north, which the opening faces. A wall runs north for 15 ft. from the east outer side of the entrance, but its extremity terminates in block débris. In the angle of the two walls at the outer foot of the entrance are traces of steps leading for a few feet down the declivity along the west side of the projecting wall.
The banquette wall rounds round the inside face of the main wall on either side of the north-east or main entrance, and forms a terrace behind it which would afford a good view over the main wall. Practically the main wall and the banquette wall are one and the same structure at certain points, since the stones of the main wall project into the banquette; but at other points they are independent of each other, and at these points the space between the two structures is filled in with stones to the level of the summit of the banquette.
The eastern length of banquette starts from the east side of the north-west entrance and runs along the inside of the main wall into Enclosure D for a length of 17 ft., the summit being 6 ft. high and 3 ft. 6 in. wide at the entrance and 5 ft. wide at its eastern extremity. This length of banquette cannot be described as of excellent workmanship.