Great Zimbabwe, Mashonaland, Rhodesia / An account of two years' examination work in 1902-4 on behalf of the government of Rhodesia

by R. N. Hall

Though its outer side faces towards north-east, twenty-five degrees, the entrance passage itself runs somewhat obliquely through the wall, the south end being slightly more to the east than is the outer end, and standing in the middle of the south end the line of passage further to the north than does its outer face, and there is a view of the eastern end of the Acropolis, the lower portion of which is at present hidden by a pile of granite block débris removed from the interior of the temple.

The main walls on either side of the entrance are exceedingly massive and exceptionally well built, the entrance and steps forming a handsome piece of dry masonry, which reveals the artistic plan and bold conception of the ancient architects, admirably executed by the builders. On the east side the wall is 15 ft. 6 in. wide at the points where the main wall starts to curve in forming the east side of the entrance, and this measurement is taken at 13 ft. above the level of the outside area. On the west side the main wall is 14 ft. 6 in. wide at the points where the wall starts to curve in forming the west side of this entrance, this measurement being taken at 12 ft. above the level of the outside area.

The entrance passage is 15 ft. 9 in. long. It is 7 ft. 10 in. wide at the foot of the steps on the north side, and 12 ft. wide at the south end between those points on either side where the walls start to curve in forming the entrance. The steps occupy 4 ft. 4 in. of the north end of the length of the passage, and the rest is paved level; but at the south end the flooring is slightly uneven owing to roots having moved some of the paving blocks. The level at the south end terminates in a step-down, which runs from the south face of one side wall to the south face of the other side wall. The present heights of the reduced walls of the entrance are: east side, 7 ft. 6 in.; west side, 6 ft. 10 in.

EXTERIOR OF NORTH ENTRANCE TO ELLIPTICAL TEMPLE

(DISCOVERED 1903)

There are six rows of steps each 7 in. high, and each row in its centre recedes 10 in. beyond the one below it, the row curving inwards at its centre. The walls on either side of this entrance are not separate walls, but a common foundation runs under both, forming the floor of the passage, which floor is 3 ft. 4 in. higher than the level of the outer area.

The steps are formed by the courses of blocks of the outer face of the wall on one side passing to the outer face of the wall on the opposite side, where they are continued, making a curve inwards, each curve receding with mathematical precision behind the curve in front. The courses on either side assume a fan-like form, thus making the curved courses of the steps wider in the middle than on the sides. The steps were built before the side walls of the passage were erected, and their marvellous regularity demonstrates the foresight of the builders. The end blocks of each row are partly built into the walls on either side. The courses in the main wall at this point are remarkably even and correct, the courses on the one side corresponding with the courses on the other. These steps are identical in measurement with all steps, so far discovered, found built in any ancient wall of the oldest type of ruin, and are of altogether different construction from those of the angular and terraced ruins of the later period in which the angular side walls of an entrance are first erected, and the steps afterwards built in between them.

Bent frequently refers to this entrance as the main entrance of the temple. In so doing he is in all probability correct, though many of the facts concerning it, which give it an importance not possessed by either of the other two entrances, were then unknown to him. These were discovered in November, 1902. But the fact that three passages—Parallel Passage, Inner Parallel Passage, and South Passage—all converge on this entrance shows that it must have possessed considerable importance. But the recent clearing away of the débris to a depth of some 6 ft. has revealed the lower portion of the entrance with its well-constructed flight of steps, as well as the admirably proportioned structure of the entrance, which can now be seen to be by far the finest entrance to the temple.

But the further discovery in November, 1902, of the long-buried North-East Passage, and the clearing out of the Outer Parallel Passage, both of which converge on the outer face of this entrance, have disclosed the fact that an even greater importance attached to this entrance than Bent or Sir John Willoughby could have supposed, for the existence of the North-East Passage was unknown to them, seeing that the summits of its side walls were buried at least 2 ft. under the veld. This passage, with buried enclosures on either hand, has now been cleared out for 108 yds., with traces of an extension for a further 70 yds. in a direct line towards the south-east Ancient Ascent to the Acropolis, and as the large area, known as the “Valley of Ruins,” lies along this route, and is connected with the passage by numerous side passages and openings, the importance of the North Entrance is very considerably enhanced, and Bent’s conjecture is shown to be fully confirmed.