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MASHONALAND

Digitized by the Internet Arciiive

in 2010 with funding from

Lyrasis IVIembers and Sloan Foundation

http://www.archive.org/details/ruinedcitiesofmaOOjthe

THE EUINED CITIES

OF

MASH ONALAND

BEING A KECORD OF

EXCAVATION AND EXPLORATION IN ISOl

J. THEODORE BENT, F.S.A. F.R.G.S.

AUTHOR OK "rUK CVCLADES, OK UKK AMONGST THK INSULAR GRKRlvb ' ETC.

WITH A CHAPTER ON THE

ORIENTATION AND MENSURATION OF THE TEMPLES BY R. M. W. SWAN

NEW EDITION

LONDON LONGMANS, GEEEN, AND CO.

AND 2^EW YORK : 15 EAST 16"" STREET 1895

All riij his reserved

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE.

First Edition, 8vo. November 1892 ; New and Cheajier Edition, with additional Appendix, crown 8vo. August 1893; Reprinted, with addi- tions, January 1895.

PEEFAGE

TO

THE THIRD EDITION

Since the appearance of the second edition of this book I have received many communications about the Mashonaland ruins, considerable additional work iu excavation has been done, and many more ruins have come to light as the country has been opened out. Of this material I have set down the chief points of interest.

Professor D. H. Midler. — Professor D. H. Miiller, of Vienna, the great Austrian authority on Southeru Arabian archaeology, wrote to me on the subject, and kindly drew my attention to passages in his work on the towers and castles of South Arabia which bore on the question, and from which I now quote. Marib, the Mariaba of Greek and Eoman geographers, was the capital of the old Sabaean kingdom of Southern Arabia, and celebrated more especially for its gigantic dam and irrigation system, the ruin of which was practically the ruin of the country. East-north-east of Marib, half an hour's ride brings one to the great

I MAR 2 4 1965

viii MASIIONA.LAND

ruin called by the Arabs the Haram of Bilkis or the Queen of Sheba. It is an elliptical building with a circuit of 300 feet, and the plan given by the French traveller, M. Arnaud, shows a remarkable likeness to the great circular temple at Zimbabwe.

Again, the long inscription on this building is in two rows, and runs round a fourth of its circum- ference ; this corresponds to the position of the two rows of chevron pattern which run round a fourth part of the temple at Zimbabwe. Furthermore, one half of the elliptical wall on the side of the inscrip- tion is well built and well preserved, whereas that on the opposite side is badl}^ built and partly ruined. This is also the case in the Zimbabwe ruin, whei'e all the care possible has been lavished on the side where the pattern and the round tower are, and the other portion has been either more roughly finished or constructed later by inferior workmen.

From the inscriptions on the building at Marib we learn that it was a temple dedicated to the goddess Almaqah. Professor Midler writes as follows : —

There is absolutely no doubt that the Haram of Bilkis is an old temple in which sacred inscriptions to the deities were set up on stylag. The elliptically formed wall appears to have been always used in temple buildings ; also at Sirwah, tlie Almaqah temple, which is decidedly very much older than the Haram of Bilkis, was also built in au oval form. Also t'lese temples, as the inscriptions show, were dedicated to Almaqah, Arabian arch^ologists also identify Bilkis witli Almaqah, and, therefore, make the temple of Almaqah into a female apartment (haram).

PEEFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION ix

From Hamdaiii, the Arabian geographer, we learn that lahnaqah was the star Venus ; for the star Venus is called in the Himyaritic tongue lalmaqah or Almaq, ' illuminating,' and hence we see the curious connec- tion arisino- between the orio-inal female o-oddess of the earlier star-worshipping Sabaeans and the later myth of the wonderful Queen Bilkis, who was sup- posed to have constructed these buildings.

It seems to me highly probable that in the temple of Zimbabwe we have a Sabiean Almaqah temple ; the points of comparison are so very strong, and there is furthermore a strong connection between the star- worshipping Sabasans and the temple with its points orientated to the sun, and built on such definite mathematical principles.

Professor Sayce called my attention to the fact that the elliptical form of temple and the construction on a system of curves is further paralleled by the curious temples at Malta, which all seemed to have been constructed on the same principle.

Mr, W. St. Chad Boscawen's interestinc^ communi- cation to the preface of the second edition receives confirmation from details concerning the worship of Sopt at Saft-el-Henneh, publishedby Herr Brugsch in the Proceedings of Biblical Archaeology. Sopt, he tells us, was the feudal god of the Arabian nome, the nome of Sopt. At Saft-el-Henneh this god is described upon the monuments as ' Sopt the Spirit of the East, the Hawk, the Horus of the East ' (Naville's ' Goshen/ p. 10), and as also connected with Tum, the rising

X " MASIIONALAND

and setting sun (p. 13). M. Naville believes that this bird represents not the rising sun, but one of the planets, Venus, the morning star ; that is to say, that Sopt was the herald of the sun, not the sun itself. Herr Brugsch, however, believes that it was really the god of the zodiacal light, the previous and the after glow. If M. Naville's theory is correct, we have at once a strong connection between Almaqah, the Venus star of the Sabseans, and the goddess wor- shipped at Marib and probably at Zimbabwe, and the hawk of Sopt, the feudal god of the Arabian nome, which was closely connected with the worship of Hathor, 'the queen of heaven and earth.'

Sir John Willoughby conducted further excava- tions at Zimbabwe, which lasted over a period of five weeks. He brought to light a great number of miscellaneous articles, but unfortunately none of the finds are different from those which we discovered. He obtained a number of crucibles, phalli, and bits of excellent pottery, fragments of soapstone bowls. One object only may be of interest, which he thus describes : —

This was a piece o^ copper about six inches in length, a quarter of an inch wide, and an eighth 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 some five feet below the surface, almost in contact with the east side of the wall itself.

Sir John also found some very line pieces of

PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION xi

pottery which would not disgrace a classical period ill Greece or Egypt. Furthermore, he made it abun- dantly clear that the buildings are of many different periods, for they show more recent walls superposed on older ones.

Mr. E. W. M. Swan, who was with us on our expedition as cartographer and surveyor, has this year returned to Mashonahmd, and has visited and tiiken the plans of no less than thirteen sets of ruins of minor importance, but of the same period as Zimbabwe, on his way up from the Limpopo river to Fort Victoria. The results of these investigations have been eminently satisfactory, and in every case confirming the theory of the construction of the great Zimbabwe temple.

At the junction of the Lotsani river with the Limpopo he found two sets of ruins and several shapeless masses of stones, not far from a well-known spot where the Limpopo is fordable. Both of these are of the same workmanship as the Zimbabwe build- ings, though not quite so carefully constructed as the big temple ; the courses are regular, and the battering back of each successive course and the rounding of the ends of the walls are very cleverly done. The walls are built of the same kind of granite and with holes at the doorways for stakes as at Zimbabwe. But what is most important, Mr. Swan ascertained that the length of. the radius of the curves of which they are built is equal to the diameter of the Lundi temple or the circumference of the great round tower

Xll MASHONALAND

at Zimbabwe, He then proceeded to orientate the temple, and as the sun was nearly setting he sat on the centre of the arc, and was delighted to find that the sun descended nearly in a line with the main doorway ; and as it was only seventeen days past the winter solstice, on allowing for the difference in the sun's declination for that time, he found that a line from the centre of the arc through the middle of the doorway pointed exactly to the sun's centre when it set at the winter solstice. The orientation of the other ruin he found was also to the setting sun. ' This,' writes Mr. Swan, ' places our theories regard- ing orientation and geometrical construction beyond a doubt.'

Continuing his journey northwards, Mr. Swan found two sets of ruins in the Lipokole hills, four near Semalali, and one actually 300 yards from the mess-room of the Bechuanaland Border Police at Macloutsie camp. Owing to stress of time Mr. Swan was not able to visit all the ruins that he heard of in this locality, but he was able to fix the radii of two curves at the Macloutsie ruin, and four curves at those near Semalali, and he found them all con- structed on the system used at Zimbabwe. The two ruins on the Lipokole hills he found to be fortresses only, and not built on the plan of the temples. The temples consist generally of two curves only, and are of half-moon shape, and seem never to have been complete enclosures ; they are all built of rough stone, for no sood stone is obtainable, vet the curves

PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION Xlll

are extremely well executed, and are generally true in their whole length to within one or two inches.

Further up country, on the 'Msingwani river, Mr. Swan found seven sets of ruins, three of which were built during the best period of Zimbabwe work. He measured three of the curves here, and found them to agree precisely with the curve system used in the construction of the round temple at Zimbabwe, and all of them were laid oif with wonderful accuracy.

Another important piece of work done by Mr. Swan on his way up to Fort Victoria was to take accurate measurements of tlie small circular temple about 200 yards from the Lundi river. This we had visited on our way up ; but as we had not then formed any theory with regard to the construction of these buildings, we did not measure the building with sufficient accuracy to be quite sure of our data.

With regard to this ruin, Mr. Swan writes : —

One door is to the north and the other 128'' and a fraction from it: so that the line frora the centre to the sun risinc; at mid-winter bisects the ai'c between the doorways. If one could measure the circumference of this arc with suflicient accuracy, we could deduce the obliquity of the ecliptic when the temj)le was bnilt. I made an attempt, and arrived at about 2000 B.C. ; but really it is impossible to measure witli sufficient accuracy to arrive at anything' definite by this method, although from it we may get useful corroborative evidence.

From this mass of fresh evidence as to the curves and orientation of the Mashonaland ruins we may

xiv MASIIONALAND

safely consider that the builders of these mysterious structures were well versed in geometry, and studied carefully the heavens. Beyond this nothing, of course, can really be proved until an enormous amount of careful study has been devoted to the subject. It is, however, very valuable confirmatory evidence when taken with the other points, that the builders were of a Semitic race and of Arabian origin, and quite excludes the possibility of any negroid race having had more to do with their construction than as the slaves of a race of higher cultivation ; for it is a well- accepted fact that tlie negroid brain never could be capable of taking the initiative in work of such intricate nature.

Mr. Cecil Ehodes also had another excavation done outside the walls of the great circular ruin, and the soil carefully sifted. In it were discovered a large number of gold beads, gold in thin sheets, and 2^ ounces of small and beautifully made gold tacks ; also a fragment of wood about the tenth of an inch square, covered with a brown colouring matter and ,a gilt herring-bone pattern.

Mr. Swan thus describes these finds : —

Very many gold beads liave been found ; also leaf gold and wedge-shaped tacks of gold for fixing it on wood. Finely twisted gold wire and bits of gilt pottery, also some silver. The pottery is the most interesting ; it is very thin^ only about one-fifteenth of an inch thick, and had been coated with some pigment, on which the gilt is laid. On the last fragment found the gilding is in waving lines, but on a former piece there is a herring-bone pattern. The work is

PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION XV

so fine that to see it easily one lias to use a magnifying glass. The most remarkable point about the gold ornaments is the quantity in which they are found. Almost every panful of stuff taken from anywhere about the ruins will show some gold. Just at the fountain the ground is particularly rich. I have tested some of the things from Zimbabwe, and, in addition to gold, find alloy of silver and copper, and gold and silver.

One of the most interesting of the later finds in Mashonaland is a wooden platter found in a cave about 10 miles distant from Zimbabwe, a reproduc- tion of which forms the frontispiece to this edition. Mr. Noble, clerk of the Cape Houses of Parliament, to whom I am indebted for the photograph of this object, thus describes it :^

In the centre of the dish, which is about 38 inches in circumference, there is carved the figure of a crocodile (which was probably regarded as a sacred animal) or an Egyptian turtle, and on the rim of the plate is a very primitive repre- sentation of the zodiacal characters, such as Aquarius, Pisces, Cancer, Sagittarius, Gemini, as well as Taurus and Scorpio. Besides these there occur the figures of the sun and moon, a group of three stars, a triangle, and four slabs with tri- angular punctures (two of them being in reversed positions), all carved in relief, and displaying the same rude style of art which marked the decorated bowl found by Mr. Bent in the temple at Zimbabwe. A portion of the rim of the plate has been eroded by insects, probably from resting on damp ground. Altogether, the relic presents to the eye an un- questionable specimen of rare archaism, which has been remarkably preserved through many centuries, probably dating back even before the Christian era. Previous obser-

a

XVI MASHONALAXD

vation and measurements of Zimbabwe, by Mr. R. Swan, established the presumption that the builders of it used astronomical methods and observed the zodiacal and other stars ; and this plate shows that the ancient people, whether Phoenician, Sabaean, or Mineans — all of Arabian origin — were familiar with the stellar gi^ouping and signs said to have been first developed by the Chaldeans and dwellers in Mesopotamia.

Another interesting find in connection with this early civilisation is a Eoman coin of the Emperor Antoninns Pins (a.d. 1o8); it was found in an ancient shaft near Umtali at a depth of 70 feet, and forms a valuable link in the chain of evidence as to the antiquity of the gold mines in Mashonaland.

Concernino- the more recent ruins discovered in Matabeleland, north of Buluwayo, we have not much definite detail to hand at present. Mr. Swan writes that he has seen photographs of them, and that "many of the ruins are of great size. One can clearly see that in most cases the mason work is at least as good as that at Zimbabwe, and the decorations on the wall are at least as well constructed and are more lavishly used. In one ruin you have the chevron, the herring-bone, and the chessboard patterns.'

J. THEODORE BENT

IS Gkeat CrMBERLAXD Place ; October 31, 1894.

PEEFACE

TO

THE SECOND EDITION

In looking over this woi'k for a second edition, I find little to add to the material as it appeared in the first, and next to nothing to alter. Sir John Willoughby has kindly su^^plied me with details con- cerning five weeks' excavation which he carried on the summer following the one which we spent there, the results of which, however, appear only to have produced additional specimens of the objects we found — namely, crucibles with traces of gold, frag- ments of decorated bowls, phalli, &c. — but no further object to assist us in unravelling the mystery of the primitive race which built the ruins.

No one of the many reviewers of my work has criticised adversely my archaeological standpoint with regard to these South African remains : on the contrary, I continue to have letters on the subject from all sides w^hich make me more than ever con- vinced that the authors of these ruins were a northern

xvm MASHONALAND

race coming from Arabia — a race which spread more extensively over the world than we have at present any conception of, a race closely akin to the Phoeni- cian and the Egyptian, strongly commercial, and eventually developing into the more civilised races of the ancient world.

Professor D. H. Mliller, of Vienna, endorses our statements concerning the form and nature of the biiilding;s themselves in his work ' Burc^en und Schlosser ' (ii. 20'^, to which he kindly called my attention ; and Mr. W. St. Chad Boscaweu has also favoured me with the following remarks on certain analogous points that have struck him during an archaeological tour in Egypt this last winter : —

The HawJiS Gods over the Mines in Mashonaland.

A curious parallel and possible explanation to the birds found in Mashonaland over the works at Zimbabwe seems to me to be afforded by the study of the mines and quarries of the ancient Egyptians. During my explorations in Egypt this winter I visited a lai-ge number of quarries, and was much struck by noticing that in those of an early period the hawk nearly always occurs as a guardian emblem.

Of this we have several examples.

In the Wady Magharah, the mines of which were worked for copper and turquoise by the ancient Egyptians of the period of the Third and Fourth Dynasties, especially by Senefru, Kufu, and Kephren, the figure of the hawk is found sculptured upon the rocks as the special emblem of the god of the mines. Another striking example of this connection of the hawk with the mines is afforded by a quarry worked

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION XIX

for alabaster, which I visited in Februaiy of this year. The quarry is situated in the Gebel-Kiavvleh, to the east of the Siut road. It is a large natural cave, which has been woi'ked into a quarry yielding a rich yellow alabaster, such as was used for making vases and toilet vessels. Over the door were sculptured the cartouches of Teta, the first king of the Sixth Dynasty, but, as may be seen from the accompanying sketch, in the centre of the lintel was a panel on which is sculptured the figure of a haivl: This quarry was only worked during Sixth and Twelfth Dynasties, as in the interior were found inscriptions of Amen-em-hat II. and Usortesen III. A third example of this association of the hawk and the mines is afforded by a quarry of the period of the Eighteenth Dynasty. In the mountains at the back of the plain of Tel- el- Amarna is a large limestone quarry. On one pillar of this great excavation extending far into the hill is sculptured the cartouche of Queen Tii. On another column we have the

hawk and emblems of the goddess Hathor, "WH, to whom all

mines were sacred. This seems to show that the hawk was the emblem of the goddess Hathor, to whom all mines were sacred, as we know from the inscription at Denderah, where the king says, ' I bestow upon thee the mountains, to produce for thee the stones to be a delight to see.' And it must be remembered that the region of Sinai was especially sacred to the goddess Hathor. This association of mines with Hathor especially explains the birds, as, according to Sinaitic in- scriptions, she was in this region particularly worshipped. Here were temples to her where she was worshipped as ' the sublime Hathor, queen of heaven and earth and the dark depths below ' ; and here she was also associated with the sparrow-hawk of Supt, ' the lord of the East.' This associa- tion with Sinai, and also with Arabia and Punt, which is attached to the goddess Hathor, and her connection with the

XX MASHONALAJ^D

mines in Egypt, seems to me to be most important in con- nection with the emblem of the hawk in the mines at Zimbabwe.

According to the oldest traditions of the Egyptians there was a close association between Hathor, the goddess of Ta- Netu, ' the Holy Land,' and Pnnt. She was called the ' Queen and Ruler of Punt.' Now, Punt was the Somali coast, the Ophir of the Egyptians ; but, at the same time, there was undoubtedly a close association between it and Arabia, and indeed, as Brugsch remarks, there is no need to limit it to Somali land, but to embrace in it the coasts of Yemen and Hydraniaut. ' Here in these regions,' he says (' Hist. Eg.' p. 117), 'we ought to seek, as it appears to us, for those mysterious places which in the fore ages of all history the wonder-loving Cushite races, like swarms of locusts, left in passing from Arabia and across the sea to set foot on the licli and blessed Punt and the '' Holy Land," and to continue their wanderings into the interior in a northerly and western direction. We may also bring this connection between Punt, Sinai, and Egypt more close in the time of the Eighteenth Dynasty, when we see on a rock-cut tablet at Sinai, in the Wady Magharah, the dual inscription of Hatsepsu and Thothmes III., who present their offerings to the " lord of the East, the sparrow-hawk Supt, and the heavenly Hathor." '

With all these facts before us there seems little doubt that the association between the hawks and the mines and miners is a very ancient one, and may be attributed to either ancient Egyptian, or rather, I think, to very ancient Arabian times ; for, as we know from the inscriptions of Senefru, the builder of the Pyramid of Medum, the mines in Sinai were worked by ' foreigners,' who may have been Chaldeans or ancient Arabians.'

Another point which seems to me to throw some addi- tional light upon this subject, and again imply a possible

PEEFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION XX 1

Arabian conuection, is the remarkable ingot mould discovered at Zimbabwe. Tlie shape is exactly that of the curious ob- jects, possibly ingots of some kind, which are represented as being brought by the Amu in the tomb of Khemmhotep at Beni Hasan, an event which took place in the ninth year of the reign of King Usortesen II., of the Twelfth Dynasty. The shape is very interesting, as it has evidently been chosen for the purposes of being tied on to donkeys or carried by slaves. The curious phalli found at Zimbabwe may also resemble the same emblems found in large numbers near the Speos Artemidos, the shiine of Pasht, near to Beni Hasan, and may have been associated with the goddess Hathor. There are many other features which seem to me to bear out a distinctly Arabo-Egyptian theory as to the working of this ancient gold-field, and future study will no doubt bring these in greater prominence. ^^ g^^ ^ BOSCAWEN.

Certain critics from South Africa have attacked my derivations of words. I admit that the subject is open to criticism ; ahnost anyone could state a derivation for such words as Zimbabwe, Makalanga, Mashona, and they would all have about the same degree of plausibility. Some people write and tell me that they are quite sure I am right ; others, again, write and tell me that they are quite sure I am wrong. Such being the case, I prefer to let the derivations stand as I originally put them until positive proof be brought before me, and for that I feel sure I shall have to wait a long time.

J. THEODORE BENT. 13 Great Cumberland Pl^ce : May 26, 1893.

CONTENTS

PART I ON THE BO AD TO THE RUINS

CHAP. lAGB

I. The Journey up by the Kalahari Desert Eoutb . 3

II. First Impressions of Mashonaland 31

III. Camp Life and Work at Zimbabwe . . . .60

PART II

DEVOTED TO THE ARCHEOLOGY OF THE BUINED CITIES

TV. Description of the various Euins 95

V. On the Orientation and Measurements of Zimbabwe

Ruins, by E. M. W. Swan 141

VI. The Finds at the Great Zimbabwe Ruins . . . 179

YIl. The Geography and Ethnology of the Mashonaland

Ruins 223

XXIV MASHONALAND

PART III

EXPLORATION JOURNEYS IN MASHONALAND

CHAP. PAr:K

VIII. Down to the Sabi River and Matindela Ruins . 247

IX. Fort Salisbury and the Old Workings and Ruins

OF THE Mazoe Valley 279

X. Our Embassy to the Chief 'MroKo , .... 301

XI. The Ruined Cities in Mangwexdi's, Chipunza's, and

Makoni's Countries 33G

XII. The Journey to the Coast ...... SGI

APPENDICES

A. Notes on the Geography and Meteorology of Mashona-

LAND, BY R. M. W. Swan 389

B. List of Stations in Mashonaland Astronomically Ob-

served, WITH Altitudes, by R. M. W. Swan . . . 398

C. Addenda to Chapter V., by R. M. W. Swan . . . 401

I). Progress in Mashonaland summarised from November

1891 to May 1893 405

INDEX .' 413

ILLUSTKATIONS

Wooden Platter found in a Cave about Ten Miles from

Zimbabwe Froniispicce

Mr. Theodore Bent

Making Thongs of Ox- hide

Wooden Pillow

Ancient Egyptian Pillow in the British Museum .

Wooden Dollasses or Divining Tablets .

Bone Dollasses ........

Gourds for Baling Water

Wooden Mortar, Bowl, and Porridge Bowl

Woman's Girdle, with Cartridge Cases, Skin-scrapers

Medicine Phials attached

Wooden Hair Comb, Chibi's Country .... Granary Decorated with Breast and Furrow Pattern Wooden Pillow representing Human Form Iron Skin-scraper, and Needles in Casks

Mrs. Theodore Bent

Umgabe and his Indunas ......

Hatchet .........

Carved Knives

Bone Ornaments

Wooden Snuff-boxes

Boy beating Drum

3

19 3G 37 38 39 40 41

44 45 46 47 48 bl 07 70 71 72 74 77

XXVI MASHONALAND

Dkum Decorated with ' Breast and Furrow ' Pattern, and

Plain Drum 78

Playing the Piano 80

Makalanga Piano 81

Hut at Umgabe's Kraal with Euphorbia behind . . .89

At Cherumbila's Kraal 91

EuiN on the Lundi Eiver 97

General View of Zimbabwe ... ..... 101

Main Entrance of Circular Kuin at Zimbabwe . . . 100

Large Circular Ruin, Zimbabwe 107

Pattern on Large Circular Ruin at Zimbabwe . . . 109 Large Round Tower in Circular Ruin, Zimbabwe . . . 113 Round Tower and Monolith Decoration on the Fortress

at Zimbabwe 123

Approach to the Acropolis 125

The Platform with Monoliths, etc., on the Fortress at

Zimbabwe 127

Approach to the Fortress by the Cleft, Zimbabwe . . 133

Baobab Tree in Matindela Ruins 130

Walled-up Entrance and Pattern on Matindela Ruins . . 137

Map of Zimbabwe District 143

The two Towers 149

Coin of Byblos showing the Round Tower .... 150

The Triple Walls at Zimbabwe 153

Within the Double Walls, Zimbabwe 171

Soapstone Bird on Pedestal ....... 180

3oAPSTONE Birds on Pedestals 181

Front and Back of a Broken Soapstone Bird on Pedestal . 183

Bird on Pedestal 184

Bird on Pedestal from the Zodiac of Denderah . . . 185

Miniature Birds on Pedestals 187

Ornate Phallus, Zimbabwe ; and Phcenician Column in the

Louvre 188

ILLUSTEATIONS XX vu

PAGE

LoxG Decorated Soapstonb Beam in two Pieces . , . 190

Decorated Soapstone Beams 191, 192

Collection of Strange Stones 193

Fragment of Bowl with Procession of Bulls . . . . 194

Fragment of Bowl with Hunting Scene 195

Bowl with Zebras 196

Fragment of Soapstone Bowl with Procession . . . 197 Fragments of Soapstone Bowls with Ear of Corn and

Lettering ........... 198

Letters from Proto-Arabian Alphabet 199

Letters on a Bock in Bechuanaland, copied by Mr. A. A.

Anderson 199

Soapstone Bowls 200, 201

Fragment of Bowl with Knobs 202

Soapstone Cylinder from Zimbabwe 202

Object from Temple of Paphos, Cyprus 203

Glass Beads, Celadon Pottery, Persian Pottery, and Arabian

Glass 205

Fragment of Bowl of Glazed Pottery 206

Fragments of Pottery 207

Top of Pottery Bowl, Pottery Sow, and Whorls . 208, 209

Weapons 210

Iron Bells and Bronze Spear-head .... 211, 212

Battle-axes and Arrows 213,214

Gilt Spear-head 216

Tools 217

Ancient Spade 218

SoAPsroNE Ingot Mould, Zimbabwe 218

Ingot of Tin found in Falmouth Harbour . . . . 219

Soapstone Object 219

Bevelled Edge of Gold sjielting Furnace « • . . 220

XX VI 11 MASHOXALAND

PA1K

Crucibles for Smelting Gold found at Zimbabwe. ^ . 221 Fragments of Pottery Blow-pipes from Furnace . . . 222

Metzwandira 24i)

Chief's Iron Sceptre, and Iron Eazor 253

EocK near Makori Post Station 254

Knitted Bag 255

Larder Tree 250

Reed Snuff-boxes and Grease-holder 257

Decorated Hut Door 259

Straw Hat 2G0

Decorated Heads 2C2

Chief's Tomb 271

Interior of a Hut 274

Household Store for Grain, with Native Drawings . . 275

Native Drawings 27G

Native Bowl from the Mazoe Valley 2S(5

BuiN IN Mazoe Valley 293

Three Venetian Beads ; one Copper Bead ; three old White Venetian Beads; Bone Whorl, Medicine Phials,

AND Bone Ornaments 297

Tattooed Women from Chibi's, Gambidji's, and Kunzi's

Countries 804

Wooden Bowl from Musungaikwa's Kraal 305

Makalanga Iron Smelting Furnace 308

Goatskin Bellows and Blow-pipe for Iron Smelting . . 309

Woman's Dress of Woven Bark Fibre 310

Bracelets 313

Wooden Platter from Lutzi 31 G

Earring, Stud for the Lip, and Battle-axe . . . . 320

Powder-horn 321

A Collection of Combs . . - 322

Wooden Spoon. Lutzi 328

ILLUSTRATIONS xxix

PAliB

EusHMAN Drawings near 'Mtoko's Kraal . . . 332, 3b3

Mangwendi's Kraal 338

Bushman Drawings from Nyanger Eocx 345

Chipunza's Kraal. 349

Decorated Post 3d8

PART I

ON THE ROAD TO THE RUINS

CHAPTEE I

THE JOURNEY UP BY THE KALAHARI DESERT ROUTE

Ix a volume devoted to the ruined cities of Ma- shonaland I am loth to introduce remarks in narrative form relating how we got to them and how we got away. Still, however, the incidents of our journeyings to and fro offer certain features which may be interesting from an an- thropological point of view. The study of the natives and their customs occupied our leisure moments when not digging at Zimbabwe or travelling too fast, and a record of what we saw amongst them, comes legiti- mately, I think, within the scope of our expedition.

K 2

MR. THEODORE EEXT

4 ON THE ROAD TO THE RUINS

For the absence of narrative of sport in these pages I feel it hardly necessary to apologise. So much has been done in this line by the colossal Nimrods who have visited South Africa that any trifling experiences we ma}^ have had in this direction are not worth the telling. My narrative is, therefore, entirely confnied to the ruins and the people ; on other South African subjects I do not pretend to speak with any authority whatsoever.

Three societies subscribed liberally to our ex- pedition— namely, the Eoyal Geographical Society, the British Chartered Company of South Africa, and the British Association for the Advancement of Science — without which aid I could never have un- dertaken a journey of such proportions; and to the officers of the Chartered Company, with whom we naturally came much in contact, I cannot tender thanks commensurate with thei r kindness ; to their assistance, especially in the latter part of our journe}', ^vhenwe had parted company with our waggons and our comforts, we owe the fact that we were able to penetrate into unexplored parts of the country with- out let or hindrance, and without more discomforts than naturally arise from incidents of travel.

Serious doubts as to the advisability of a lady undertaking such a journey were frequently brought before us at the outset ; fortified, however, by previous experience in Persia, Asia Minor, and the Greek Islands, we hardly gave these doubts more than a passing thought, and the event proved that they were

THE KALAHARI DESERT ROUTE 0

wholly unnecessary. My wife was the only one of onr party who escaped fever, never liavino- a clay's illness during the whole year that we were away from home. She was able to take a good many photographs under circumstances of exceptional difficulty, and instead of being, as was prophesied, a burden to the expedition, she furthered its interests and contributed to its ultimate success in more ways than one.

Mr. Eobert McNair Wilson Swan accompanied us in the capacity of cartographer ; to him I owe not only the plans which illustrate this volume, but also much kindly assistance in all times of difficulty.

We three left England at the end of January 189] , and returned to it again at the end of January 1892, having accomplished a record rare in African travel, and of which we are justly proud — namely, that no root of bitterness sprang up amongst us.

We bought two waggons, thirty-six oxen, and heaps of tinned provisions at Kimberley. These we conveyed by train to Vryberg, in Bechuanaland, which place we left on March 6. An uninteresting and un- eventful ' trek ' of a week brought us to Mafeking, where we had to wait some time, owing to a deluge of rain, and from this point I propose to commence the narrative of my observations.

Bechuanaland is about as big as France, and a country which has been gradually coming under the sphere of British influence since Sir Charles Warren's campaign, and which in a very few years must of

6 ON THE ROAD TO THE RUINS

necessity be absorbed into the embryo empire wliicli Mr. Cecil Ehodes hopes to build up from the Lakes to Cape Town. At present there are three degrees of intensity of British influence in Bechuanaland in proportion to the proximity to headquarters — firstly, the Crown colony to the south, with its rail- way, its well-to-do settlements at Taungs, Vryberg, and Mafeking, and with its native chiefs confined within certain limits ; secondly, tlie British protec- torate to the north of this over such chiefs asBatuen, Pilan, Linchwe, and Sechele, extending vaguely to the west into the Kalahari Desert, and bounded by the Limpopo Eiver and the Dutchmen on the east ; thirdty, the independent dominions of the native chief Khama, who rules over a vast territory to the north, and whose interests are entirely British, for with their assistance only can he hope to resist the attacks of his inveterate foe King Lobengula of Matabeleland.

Two roads through Bechuanaland to Mashonaland were open to us from Mafeking : the shorter one is by the river, which, after the rains, is muddy and fever-stricken ; the other is longer and less fre- quented ; it passes through a corner of the Kalahari Desert, and had the additional attraction of taking us through the capitals of all the principal chiefs : consequently, we unhesitatingly chose it, and it is this which I now propose to describe.

We may dismiss the Crown colony of Bechuana- land vrith a few words. It differs little from any

THE KALAHARI DESERT ROUTE 7

other such colony in South Africa, and the natives and tlieir chiefs have httle or no identity left to them. Even, the once famous Montsoia, chief of the Ba-rolongs of Mafeking, has sunk into the lowest depths of servile submission ; he receives a monthly pension of 25/., which said sum he always puts under his pillow and sleeps upon ; he is avaricious in his old age, and dropsical, and surrounded by women who delight to wrap their swarthy frames in gaudy garments from Europe. He is nominally a Christian, and has been made an E.O.S., or Friend of Ally Sloper, and, as the latter title is more in accordance with his tastes, he points with pride to the diploma which hangs on the walls of his hut.

From Mafeking to Kanya, the capital of Batuen, chief of the Ba-Ngwatetse tribe, is about eighty miles. At first the road is treeless, until the area is reached where terminates the cuttino- down of timber for the support of the diamond mines at Kimberley, a pro- cess which has denuded all southern Bechuanaland of trees, and is gradually creeping north. The rains were not over when we started, and we found the road saturated with moisture ; and in two days, near the Eamatlabama Eiver, our progress was just one mile, in which distance our waggons had to be un- loaded and dug out six times. But Bechuanaland dries quickly, and in a fortnight after this we had nothing to drink but concentrated mud, which made our tea and coffee so similar that it was impossible to tell the difference.

fc ON THE ROAD TO THE RUINS

On one occasion during our midday halt we had all our oxen inoculated Mdtli the virus of the lung sickness, for this fatal malady was then raging in Khama's country. Our waggons were placed side by side, and with an ingenious contrivance of thongs our conductor and driver managed to fasten the plunging animals by the horns, whilst a string steeped in the virus was passed with a needle through their tails. Sometimes after this process the tails swell and fall off; and up country a tailless ox has a value peculiarly his own. It is always rather a sickly time for the pcjor beasts, but as we only lost two out of thirty-six from this disease we voted inoculation successful.

I think Kanya is the first place where one realises that one is in savao'e Africa. Thouoh it is under British protection it is only nominall}'' so, to prevent the Boers from appropriating it. Batuen, the chief, is still supreme, and, like his father, Gasetsive, he is greatly under missionary influence. He has stuck up a notice on the roadside at the entrance to the town in Sechuana, the language of the country, Dutch, and English, which runs as follows : ' I, Batuen, chief of Ba-Ngwatetse, hereby give notice to my people, and all other people, that no waggons shall enter or leave Kanya on Sunday. Signed, September 28th, 1889.' If any one transgresses this law Batuen takes an ox from each span, a transaction in which piety and profit go conveniently hand in hand.