“Previous to my arrival, the only trace of ruins here was one small stone buttress on the eastern side. My original intention was to find any wall foundations that might exist, and then to cross-cut right through the mound at their level from east to west, and from north to south. But I was deterred from carrying this out, because as the work proceeded, traces of cement floors at different levels were discovered. By starting low down the mound, I came upon a wall, varying in height from 4 ft. to 6 ft., which encircled it. The original height of this wall can only be estimated by comparing the existing structure with the fallen débris which was buried by an accumulation of soil. At the foot of this wall, and on the outside, I found many specimens of arrow-heads, Kafir pottery, bracelets, and necklaces of iron and copper. I also found something which may perhaps prove to be an object of special interest. This was a piece of copper about 6 in. in length and a quarter of an inch thick, covered with a green substance (whether enamel, paint, or lacquer, I am unable to determine), and inlaid with one of the triangular Zimbabwe designs. It was buried 5 ft. below the surface, almost in contact with the east side of the wall itself.
CAMP RUINS No. 1.
Zimbabwe
“I also discovered a small cave under a big rock that culminates in the highest point of the mound, but the only object of interest here found, besides bits of coarse pottery, was a piece of crystal or glass. On driving into the mound through a somewhat broken entrance in the inside wall of the west side, I was much puzzled by striking a level cement floor some 4 ft. above the wall foundations, and on following this level I came upon a second floor about 2 ft. above the first. It would therefore seem that originally there were a series of cement terraces, one above the other, culminating in a point of observation on the south side on the summit of a large rock, or that different occupants at varying dates had made new floors. It was near this rock that I came upon one of the few pieces of masonry inside the other wall, and that only very fragmentary in character. In following the outside wall on its inner face, I found it varied in width between 2 ft. 6 in. and 4 ft., and that its foundations also varied much in depth. In the cutting thus made I came upon three small furnace holes close together on a level with the top of the wall as it now stands, the foundations of which increased in depth as I proceeded, and disclosed here and there what appeared to be an extensive layer of ashes with the bones and teeth of animals. A notable peculiarity in this mound is the variety of stratified soil with folding concave towards the centre. The surface soil is more or less black; then comes a bright red clay divided by a broad yellow streak, and below this a dash of yellow, with here and there a vein of decomposed sandstone or other rocky substance. During this excavation I was not very successful in finds, which were only represented by three pieces of sea-green china, one of which was lying in the solid red clay below the surface, and 8 ft. to 10 ft. into the side of the mound, and two dull green porcelain beads, found 7 ft. deep and near its centre. Taking into consideration the ash beds and furnace holes already referred to, I feel justified in suggesting that once a workshop was here the scene of useful activity, and at that time surrounded by an irregular wall for protective purposes, with a point of outlook to guard against surprise, such as the big rock with the summit would represent.”
As the author resided actually within Camp Ruins for fully two years (1902–4), very frequent opportunities of thoroughly examining the walls have presented themselves, the result being that it is now ascertained that these ruins as seen to-day can be shown to be not ancient but of a some very old Makalanga period. The furnace holes alluded to have been used for iron-smelting, and to the depth of 11 ft. no single article approaching an antique or even mediæval character has been found within or near its walls. The brass wire bangles found at depth still have their grass, hair, or fibre intact. Garden hoes, assegai heads, and coarse pottery of ordinary Kafir make are here found in abundance. The green pottery beads are found in almost every ruin at Zimbabwe, and never at lower depth than the yellow soil which lies immediately under the black vegetable mould on the floors of all the ruins. Certainly, the present natives do not know this class of beads. That this building, as suggested by Sir John Willoughby, was once a workshop is obvious from the quantities of iron slag and ashes and burnt clay floors and iron furnaces found in the vicinity. The bones of animals are mainly those of buck of all kinds. The construction of the walls precludes any suggestion that they could have been standing very many centuries, certainly not extending back to any period which could, even by long inference, be considered “ancient.” The workmanship is decidedly poorer than that shown in modern Kafir buildings in the district.
But while this ruin, as seen to-day, may not itself be ancient, there is some evidence that the ancients must have fortified this knoll; and when we consider its strategetic position on the granite ridge, extending from the south-west foot of the Acropolis Hill and the Elliptical Temple, it becomes highly probable that later people have utilised the material of some older buildings once occupying this position in the erection of their poorer structures. Foundations of walls surround the knoll at distances of some fifty and one hundred yards from these ruins, and these show a fair claim to be recognised as ancient, or, at any rate, as older than the walls on the summit. The “cement” mentioned by Sir John is common soil daga (clay), similar to that found in old Makalanga huts and floors.
The ruin crowning the knoll is roughly circular, with a diameter of about 100 ft., with walls varying in height from 4 ft. to 6 ft. The accompanying plan, with explanatory notes, kindly lent to the author by Sir John Willoughby, shows the character of this ruin. The “finds” made here in 1902–3 are identical with those discovered by Sir John Willoughby.
CAMP RUIN NO. 2
This ruin lies 50 ft. south of Camp Ruins No. 1, and is on the same knoll, the two being separated from each other by the Shangani graveyard.
