NO. 1 ENCLOSURE

THIS enclosure is on the north side of the temple, the outer face of its north-eastern wall being 18 ft. south-west of the North Entrance. This is the most perfect of all the enclosures. It is roughly circular, and there are no angular features in the body of the wall, though both entrances have their outer corners squared. The area is: north to south 56 ft. 6 in., and east to west 55 ft. 6 in.

The average height of the walls all round the enclosure is 7 ft. above the present surface of the filled-in area. At the north-east end the summit of the wall is 11 ft. above the bottom of an old hole excavated at that point, and in the hole the foundation is exposed. On the north-west side the summit of the wall is 9 ft. above the red cemented floor of an old Makalanga hut which had solid clay sides.

The walls are very substantial, being 5 ft. 6 in. wide and 4 ft. and 5 ft. above the surface of the area, as it was before clearing operations were commenced.

There are two entrances, one on the north side and the other on the east side.

The north entrance leads from No. 3 Enclosure, and is 2 ft. 6 in. wide, and its walls are rounded on the inside and angular on the outside, the side walls being between 3 ft. and 4 ft. high. There are four rows of steps, somewhat rudely constructed, each being about 10 in. from front to back. A small parapet wall carries the steps from the lower level of No. 3 Enclosure.

The walls of the east entrance are rounded on the inside and angular on the outside. The entrance is 2 ft. wide, 5 ft. long, with a level floor for this length, the foundation being carried across the opening, and the walls on either side are 4 ft. high. There is one step inside at the end of the 5-ft. length, and one step outside from the floor of South Passage. There are no portcullis grooves to this entrance. On the inside of this entrance is a stone platform which might once have carried buttresses.

This enclosure has been subjected to the filling-in process more than any other enclosure of the temple, probably because of its proximity to the North-West Entrance through which the material could easily have been brought in from outside. On the present surface there are remains of an old Makalanga hut, which must be more than sixty years old, seeing that the Makalanga have not resided in the temple for over that period. At a depth of from 1 ft. 6 in. to 2 ft. below this surface the remains of a still very much older Makalanga hut have been exposed. This was constructed of red clay, beautifully polished, the flooring being on a very true level. This class of old huts had their clay sides altogether independent of the roof, which was supported by poles inserted at a distance of some inches from the outside of the walls. (See Architecture—Makalanga Huts.)

The only “finds” made here were fragments of large soapstone bowls carved with herring-bone and cord patterns, small clay animals, assegai heads, and pottery of old, but not ancient, design or make, and comparatively recent native pottery.

A drain passes through the west wall of this enclosure, and has a fall into No. 3 Enclosure.

Bent stated that this enclosure was not a portion of the original building. There are indications that this conjecture is correct. The walls are built without any regularity in courses and of stones of all shapes and sizes, the west wall crossing over the foundations of an older wall.

NO. 2 ENCLOSURE

This is a pear-shaped enclosure at the north-north-west side of the temple, and is built up immediately against the main outer wall from (530 ft.) to (578 ft.), and is on the west side of the North Entrance.

It is 47 ft. long from south-east to north-east, and 13 ft. wide from north-east to south-west at its broadest part.

From (560 ft.) to (565 ft.) the main wall is considerably broken, having fallen outwards. It is between these points that there is a narrow break in the foundations, which supports the view regarding the reconstruction of the western wall at a later ancient period, a matter dealt with in the description of the main wall, and in the Preface.

This enclosure has only one entrance, and this is at the south-east end. It has rounded walls, is 8 ft. long, 2 ft. 2 in. wide, and the wall on the south-west is 4 ft. high, and that on the north-east side 7 ft. high. The floor of this enclosure is between 2 ft. and 3 ft. below the floor of the adjoining North Entrance, and there is one stone and one cement step in the entrance passage of this enclosure.

A substantial wall, 4 ft. to 8 ft. high, and 4 ft. wide at 4 ft. from the ground, but evidently of later construction, is on the south side, and separates this enclosure from No. 3 Enclosure, but it has a deep depression on its summit, and is very considerably ruined for about 20 ft.

There is a drain-hole through the main wall at (545 ft.).

This enclosure has suffered very considerably at the hands of unauthorised searchers for ancient gold relics, some of the flooring having been torn up, and the foundations of part of the southern wall have been undermined.

Here in a dÉbris heap was found the large plain flat-rimmed soapstone bowl which was lent by the late Rt. Hon. C. J. Rhodes to the South African Museum at Cape Town.

NO. 3 ENCLOSURE

This is the most north-westerly enclosure of the temple, the north-west main wall from (590 ft.) to (660 ft.) forming its north-westerly boundary. The south side is formed by No. 1 Enclosure, the west by No. 4 Enclosure, and the north and east by No. 2 Enclosure.

The area is keystone-shaped, being 76 ft. long on its north-west side, 45 ft. 6 in. on its west side, 71 ft. on the south side, and 50 ft. 6 in. on the north and east side.

The North-West Entrance to the temple is at (606 ft. 6 in.) to (611 ft. 6 in.) on the north-west side of the enclosure. (See Main Wall, North-West Entrance, for description.)

The entrance in the west wall between Nos. 3 and 4 Enclosures was not at the present gap in the dÉbris of this wall, as the gap was made for the convenience of visitors. The foundations of this wall end abruptly at 25 ft. from its east end, this portion of the wall being in a fairly good condition for 14 ft., and being from 3 ft. to 6 ft. high.

The entrance to No. 1 Enclosure is in the south wall at 45 ft. to 49 ft. from the west wall.

The east entrance has rounded sides, is 2 ft. wide, and the side walls are 4 ft. high. This entrance leads from South Passage, and is immediately inside the North Entrance to the temple.

A drain from No. 1 Enclosure is in the angle formed by the west and south walls.

Possibly this enclosure was once subdivided, but when mediÆval and even later Makalanga occupied the temple for their residence and cattle kraal the sub-divisional walls were removed. That this portion of the temple was used for this purpose is demonstrated both by “finds” and the condition of the enclosure, and these support the native assertion to this effect. The remains of a wall runs north-west from the south-west corner of the enclosure towards the west side of the North-West Entrance. This is 16 ft. long, 2 ft. high, and 3 ft. 6 in. wide. A second wall is believed to have once stood between the west side of the entrance to No. 1 Enclosure and the north and east side wall.

At (640 ft.) is a long granite slab, which has evidently fallen from the summit of the main wall. Probably it was a tie or “through” stone, as the summit of the main wall had been bonded with similar stones.

In the angle formed by the north-east and north-west walls are the remains of a large rounded buttress now only 2 ft. high. Possibly this might be one of the platforms with “blind steps” (see Architecture—Blind Steps) which are found in the angles in several of the temple enclosures.

This enclosure appears to have been filled in with stones and earth at a very late period, as the filling-in contains at all depths portions of Makalanga pottery and lumps of iron slag. The ancient floor is believed to be some 2 ft. below the present surface.

NO. 4 ENCLOSURE

This is the most westerly of the temple enclosures. Its form resembles that of a keystone with the broad side on the west main wall, along the inside of which it extends for 67 ft. from (666 ft.) to (730 ft.)

It is bounded on the north side by the divisional wall separating it from No. 3 Enclosure, and this side is 47 ft. 6 in. long. This wall extends from the outer face of the west portion of the wall of No. 1 Enclosure for 14 ft., from which it is in a good state of preservation, except for reduction in height, it being now only between 4 ft. and 6 ft., while the rest of the wall is ruined, and is lost in a line of dÉbris which marks where the wall once stood. At the west end of this dÉbris are a few blocks still retaining their position, and these show where the north wall joined the main wall. As on the north side of this wall, where there is now no trace of entrance between Nos. 2 and 3 Enclosures, so is it on its south side, where the face of the wall is even more ruined than on the opposite side.

On the south side this enclosure is bounded by the divisional wall between it and No. 5 Enclosure. This wall is 58 ft. long, and bends southwards in the middle of its length for 5 ft. from a line between the two extremities of the wall. At the east end of the wall it is 6 ft. high for 5 ft. in length, when it is reduced to 2 ft. with dÉbris 3 ft. higher lying along the summit. The west end of the wall is very poorly built, and as this enclosure has also been used by the Makalanga as a cattle kraal, probably finding the wall broken down at its western end, they rebuilt it in order to keep in the cattle. The wall throughout is built on a raised cement foundation only slightly wider than the wall itself.

Though there is at present no trace of any entrance between this and No. 5 Enclosure, there are reasons for believing that traces of one may be discovered near the spot where a large fig tree grows on the line of wall.

The east side is 33 ft. in length, and is formed for 10 ft. from the north side by the west outer face of the wall of No. 1 Enclosure, which is here 11 ft. high; for the following 12 ft. by the opening into the West Passage which runs parallel to the south-west and west sides of No. 1 Enclosure; and for 13 ft. by the outer and west face of the West Passage, the wall of which is 10 ft. high, and is well built, substantial, and in a good state of preservation.

The whole of the interior of this enclosure has been deliberately and rudely filled in with soil, dÉbris, also with stones which have fallen into it, and for almost 2 ft. in depth it is covered with rich vegetable mould. [This latter was removed in 1903.]

NO. 5 ENCLOSURE

This enclosure is immediately inside the West Entrance to the temple, the western and south-western main wall forming its boundary on those sides from (735 ft.) to (760 ft.) on the north side of the entrance, and from (0 ft.) to (100 ft.) on the south side of the entrance, thus making its length on the side of the main wall to be 130 ft.

The area was once subdivided, but at present it is difficult to say exactly where the sub-divisional walls ran, though the faint traces of these are to be seen in several directions, but all appear to radiate from the eastern side of the enclosure towards the inside face of the main wall.

The north side is 59 ft. long, the south wall of No. 4 Enclosure being its northern boundary. The face of this wall at its eastern extremity is well built, but the western portion of it is very poorly constructed. The probable cause of this difference in the building of the wall was explained in the description of No. 4 Enclosure, and also in the Preface.

The eastern side for 36 ft. in length from the north side is formed by a very well-built wall which forms the southern extremity of West Passage. This wall is now only 6 ft. in height, but the great amount of wall-dÉbris lying at its bases suggests that it was once some 7 ft. higher. It is 6 ft. wide on its present summit. From this point to the southern end of the enclosure the rest of the eastern side is open space, with traces of substantial wall foundations all along this length. The total length of the eastern side of this enclosure is 93 ft.

The south side, which is 37 ft. long, is formed by faint traces of a wall which divides this area from No. 6 Enclosure, extending from the west outer side of No. 7 Enclosure to the main wall.

The width at the centre of this enclosure from east to west is 57 ft.

A flat granite monolith stands at 30 ft. north-east of the north buttress of the West Entrance with a flat face towards the west. It rises from the ground 6 ft. 9 in., is 3 ft. broad, narrowing to 1 ft. 10 in. at the top. It is 3 in. thick, and leans slightly towards the east. No artificial markings can be discovered on either of its faces.

A triangular-shaped granite beam stands 2 ft. 11 in. above the ground at 26 ft. north-east of the south buttress of the West Entrance. A fractured portion of the beam, until lately buried, lies near. This section is 8 ft. 2 in. long. Twelve years ago this beam was complete. It then had a tilt towards the north, and its base must be deep to have supported its heavy weight in a leaning position.

Other sections of fractured granite monoliths were buried at this spot; one set of sections exceed together 8 ft., without taking into consideration a section which is missing.

The latest floor of this enclosure is at least 2 ft. below the present surface, the soil on the top being vegetable mould thickly matted with roots of wild vines and other creepers. [In August, 1903, this top soil was removed from the whole area. Several pieces of beaten gold and some Arabian glass were found lying on the hard soil underneath it.]

NO. 6 ENCLOSURE

This adjoins No. 5 Enclosure, which forms its western boundary. The south side is formed by the south main wall of the temple from (100 ft.) to (179 ft. 3 in.). The north and north-east side is formed by the south wall of No. 7 Enclosure. This wall is from 5 ft. to 11 ft. high. The eastern side is formed by the west wall of the Sacred Enclosure, which is from 8 ft. to 11 ft. high.

The measurements of this area are: south side, 79 ft.; north side, 58 ft.; east side, 22 ft.; and west side, 31 ft.

This enclosure has two entrances. Probably another entrance may be discovered on the western side on the removal of dÉbris.

The northern entrance is at 35 ft. to 37 ft., measuring from the eastern end of the north wall. This leads into No. 7 Enclosure. It has rounded walls, and the floor forms part of the foundation. There are no portcullis grooves.

The eastern entrance is at 13 ft. to 15 ft., measuring from the north end of the east wall. This leads into the Sacred Enclosure. Its walls are rounded, and there are portcullis grooves. The steps are built into the wall. On either side of the entrance there are traces of rounded buttresses.

Monkey-rope roots have done serious injury to the eastern end of the north wall, and have caused a depression of 5 ft. from the average height of the reduced wall.

This enclosure is interesting because it showed three floors below the soil surface. On removing the mould which form the top surface for a depth of 1 ft. to 2 ft., was found the common red clay foundation of a Makalanga hut, about which lay iron hoes, assegai-heads, and also pottery of no great age. Below this, for a further depth of 1 ft. to 1 ft. 6 in., was a promiscuous filling-in of blocks and soil, and below this again was a very hard soil, probably of decomposed cement, and on this hard surface was a pile of about 20 lbs. weight of portions of pottery scorifiers and small crucibles, all of which showed gold richly on the flux. These had evidently been piled up as rubbish, for they were all found within an area of 2 sq. ft., and no other portions of scorifiers or crucibles were found elsewhere in this enclosure. A pair of iron pincers made of two pieces of iron welded together at one end, an iron gong, and a soapstone amulet were discovered together, while on the lowest floor was a portion of a large soapstone bowl carved with herring-bone on cord pattern, and the fractured bases of what are believed to be true phalli. This lowest floor is 9 in. deeper than the one on which the gold crucibles were found, and is made of whitish cement, and has been exposed for about 4 sq. ft. in the north-east corner of the enclosure at 11 ft. below the summit of the east wall.

The reconstruction of the north wall at its eastern end is very conspicuous. This reconstruction is referred to in the description of No. 7 Enclosure.

In the soil dÉbris pile, which had been removed from No. 7 Enclosure into this enclosure in 1891 by Bent, was (in August, 1902) found a piece of glass, being the lip portion of a bowl. This had bosses on its surface, with gold rims round each boss, indicating that the upper part of the neck of this bowl was once covered with gold enamel. This glass is believed to be identical with that found by Sir John Willoughby, and pronounced by authorities at the British Museum to belong to the thirteenth century.

NO. 7 ENCLOSURE

This enclosure is on the south side of the temple, the south and south-west wall running for 55 ft. parallel with the main wall at a distance of about 21 ft. This enclosure, next to No. 1 Enclosure, is in the best state of preservation of any chamber within the temple. Its area is 54 ft. 6 in. from north to south, and 39 ft. from east to west, and its form resembles a quarter section of a circle, with its rounded side extending from south-west to north, the centre of which quarter-circle is at the south-south-east end of the area. The present surface of the area is very uneven, owing to the operations of excavators and searchers for relics.

There are two entrances still more or less intact, one on the south-west side leading into No. 6 Enclosure, and the other at the north corner, but facing west. Possibly there was also an entrance on the east side, where a gigantic fig tree, 50 ft. high, now stands.

The south-west entrance (see section) is protected on the inside by rounded buttresses on either side, which project 2 ft. 6 in. into the enclosure. These buttresses, of which only the lower courses now remain, are built upon, and at each end of, a semi-circular base 11 ft. long protruding 4 ft. 6 in. into the enclosure, the face courses of which curve inwards, one above and behind, the other between the side buttresses, and so form steps up to the entrance, the courses above the steps being carried round the buttresses. There are no traces of portcullis grooves. This is a form of steps found in the entrances through the main wall of the temple, and in the entrances in many ruins of the oldest or first-period style of architecture, whether at Zimbabwe or elsewhere in the country.

The north entrance is of exactly similar construction, but is in a better state of preservation, the one buttress remaining being still 5 ft. high. This entrance has portcullis grooves.

The best-built portion of the walls of this enclosure is undoubtedly that of the curved wall which extends from south-west to north. This is a fine piece of work, and the face of the wall is very regular. This wall is from 11 ft. to 13 ft. high on the inside, and 11 ft. to 14 ft. high on the outside, and is 4 ft. 6 in. wide in its present summit, the line of which is even except at its extremities. Judging by the block dÉbris, this wall might once have been fully 2 ft. to 3 ft. higher. The centre of the outward curve of the wall is 11 ft. west from a line drawn between the extreme points of the curve.

The south wall may be divided into two sections, the westerly portion being well built, and the easterly portion very poorly constructed, having numerous straight joints, disappearing and false courses, and is built of stones of all sizes and shapes. This latter part is evidently a reconstruction at a later date and on the old foundations. Where the joint was made between the old and the later walls is very clearly discernible, while there is a deep depression in the summit of the wall at this point. These depressions almost always exist in joints between old and later walls. This wall is 32 ft. long, between 8 ft. and 9 ft. high, and is 4 ft. wide on its reduced summit.

The eastern side is in four lengths: (1) a small portion of wall in the south-east corner 6 ft. long, 6 ft. high, and 4 ft. wide; (2) a gap of 14 ft., evidently made by past and present trees; (3) a wall 7 ft. high, 13 ft. long, and 3 ft. wide on its summit (the lower portion of this section is built up against (4), but in the upper section it is built into it); and (4) a wall 16 ft. long, 9 ft. high, 4 ft. wide on summit. This wall has been partly ruined at its western end by the roots of a large tree.

The connection between sections (3) and (4) where the lower portion of (3) is built up against and is independent of (4), while the upper portion of (3) is built and bonded into and forms part of (4), has an exact parallel in the west wall of Recess Enclosure on the Acropolis, where the lower portions of two walls are independent of each other, but their higher portions are bonded and built as one wall.

In August, 1902, some thirty tons of explorers’ dÉbris of old date were removed from this enclosure, and a floor of granite cement was disclosed at its south end, in the middle of which, and forming part of the cement work, is a raised circular platform 7 in. high, 16 ft. 10 in. in circumference, and with rounded sides. Close to it was found a rounded piece of diorite extensively marked with hammerings, as if it had been used for an anvil.

Along the base of the south wall is a cemented edging 6 in. high, 17 ft. long, with rounded edges, protruding 8 in. to 12 in. from the wall. In the south corner are two blind steps made of granite cement (see Architecture—Blind Steps).