NOTE D
ZIMBABWE RUINS
[Extracted, by permission, from the Reports (1900–1902) of the British South Africa Company.]
I arrived at Victoria on the 23rd May, and left for Zimbabwe the following morning.
On inspecting the ruins I found the interior of the Elliptical Temple one impenetrable jungle of trees, bushes, creepers, tall grass (6 to 10 ft.), and decayed tree stumps and branches, so that it was impossible to see beyond a few feet, while the surface of the ground was most irregular and thickly covered with wall débris. The air inside was fetid and heavy-smelling from the rank vegetation. There being no opening on the eastern side, the interior is protected from the prevailing winds, and the sun shining on the damp, dense, and almost tropical foliage and plant growth made the air oppressive and unhealthy, so that one could not remain long at a time in the building.
Our first work was to clear away the undergrowth, but it was so dense and matted with creepers that, with fifteen men working for a whole day with hatchets, sickles, and spades, we were only able to advance a few feet into the interior from the west entrance. It required nine days for fifteen men to clear the interior of undergrowth alone. A further three days were given to pulling up grass and shrub roots. The atmosphere of the interior is completely changed, as the sun has dried the surface of the ground. It is now possible to stand in the centre of the building and obtain an uninterrupted view of the walls all round, and at the same time to see at a glance the whole of the divisional walls and enclosures.
The north side of the summit of the Conical Tower has in very recent years been denuded of several courses of blocks owing to the boughs of large trees swinging upon it in the high winds. The tower is more reduced than is shown in photographs taken six years ago. The dentelle ornamentation on the summit has practically disappeared within the last ten years. Some ancient blocks in the top courses are likely to fall. These blocks could be pushed back flush with the face of the tower, and some of the blocks which have very recently fallen might be restored to their original position. The summit when cleared of vegetation should be cemented over. It is a feature in Zimbabwe construction everywhere in Rhodesia, for a block, when it falls, to carry with it the stones of the course beneath it.
Visitors point out that the tower has lately shown a tendency to tilt somewhat towards the north-east. This is mainly due to the dense tree growth enveloping the tower, which keeps it constantly dripping with moisture, especially on the north side, where the main wall further screens it from the morning sun. The only remedy appears to be to so thin out the trees that the tower and its foundations may become perfectly dry. The wet state of the tower has caused it to become overgrown with lichen, which, decaying, produces vegetable matter which lodges in the crevices of the courses, and out of which grow small plants and shrubs, many of which we have removed. A large bush was growing out from the side in mould so formed, and the remains of a large bush on the summit are still to be seen. Should the tilting not be prevented by such means as the thinning out of adjacent trees, the value of the tower to scientists as a means of calculating the orientation of the temple, and therefore its age, would become lost. Three or four trees from close to the north-east, north, and north-west sides of the tower have been cleared away, and the vicinity has already a much drier appearance.
The dank air and soil round the tower have caused the extensive growth of large parent monkey-rope trees, which with their ropes spread in great lengths in all directions, thickly interlacing the tops of the trees, while their roots have in very many places pierced into both main and divisional walls and torn out lengths of stonework. Monkey ropes appear to be the most active source of the dilapidations of the walls near the tower, but wild vines also have done considerable harm. Several hundred yards of monkey rope have been cut down and taken outside the temple, also very long stretches of monkey rope roots have been pulled up. All lower branches are being removed, so as to give a clear view all round the temple. Some of the upper branches are being thinned out.
The surface of the ground within the temple is covered with rich leaf mould soil to a depth of at least one foot, and sometimes under trees to a depth of one foot and a half. It is in this mould that the thickets of large shrubs, creepers, especially monkey-ropes and wild vines, seem to have thriven, as also in the débris heaps left by Mr. Bent (1891) and Sir John Willoughby (1892), where the turning over of the old time-hardened soil has ventilated it and caused most sturdy growth of plants and trees. This leaf mould has been removed from the floors of the inner parallel passage and in the passage on the north-east, east, and south-east sides of No. 1 Enclosure, and has been passed through sieves, and the soil neatly piled for future examination. Thus has been removed in these places the unhealthy smell formerly noticed. This work ought to be done in all internal enclosures of the building.
All wall débris is being neatly stacked and piled near where it obviously came from. All scattered stones on the floors are being collected and placed in piles. This work has made the enclosures to appear neat and tidy. Messrs. Bent and Willoughby’s débris is also being stacked in much smaller compass. All débris heaps are being marked “débris” on painted boards. A large quantity of such débris might after examination be removed outside the building and stacked.