The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-02-20
THE RUINS OF zIMBABWE.
MYSTERY OF THE BACKGROUND OF
RIDE HAGGARD'S STORY.

ArchHoioEthtn = theodore Benta Theory
That They Were HuIit by n Race or Arnh
Origin who We're In Search OF Goid.
Tho ruins Of Zimbabwe. which form tho back.
ground of Rider Haggard's new South African
romance. now appearing in tho Sunday Sun,
have excited much interest among archteolo-
gists. They are not picturesque, nor have
they cyclopean dimensions; but In the at
tributes of mystery and suggestiveness thcy
arc interesting relies of tho past. They consti.
tuto n CLEAN from the darkness that surrounds 2
South African history, and as such have puzzled
Investigators. Whence camo tho powerful race
that built them What purpose did their
massive walls and narrow, winding passages
servof Were they prisons for tho conflne-
mont of the slaves who worked in the gold
mines near by Were they fortresses built by
an invading army with n view to permanent
settlement in a hostile countryl Were they tom
pies or perhaps palaces of tho ahoriginos of the
landi All four theories have found their sup
porters. Tho first explorer to examine them thor
oughly. less than thirty years ago. came to the
conclusion-now wholly discredited--that ono Of
the ruins was a reproduction of King Solomon's
temple and tho other u copy of tho Queen Of
Sheba's palace. Tho latest and best theory, very
skilfully set forth by tho late Theodore Bent,
holds that they are the ruins OF a settlement
established and garrisoned by Arabs for the
sake of tho gold they found between tho Fam
best and Limpopo rivers. aa
Zimbabwe lie a Bantu word, and means "the
| great kraal." or palace. 1t Is used to denote any
kind of building, but especially the residence OF
IA native chief. Among tho Kafi1rs, Zimbabwo
is q common noun. and only Europeans use ID
to denote these particular ruins In southern
Mashonaland. The ruins lilo about fifteen
miles southwest OF Fort Victoria. about
$50 miles due west of Beira on the
Indian Ocean. and about 200 miles north
Of the Transvaal. They are the largest
and most important, but not by any means the
only ruins to be found on tho rolling table lands
of Matabeleland and Mashonaland. About ff.
teen such relics of tho past have already been
discovered in different parts of the plateau, and
as the up-country and billy districts are being
gradually explored no doubt moro will DO met
with. These ruins all show similar workman
ship. Most of them are simply ragment Of
walls built of granite blocks, hewn or Clipped
into fairly uniform size. These blocks. which
are usually about q foot long by six inches high,
are strongly and neatly set together, though
without mortar or any kind of cement. Why
the ancient architects abstained from using CO.
ment cannot be conjectured. for tho floor.
ing of many Of the buildings shows they were
acquainted with it's manufacture and proper
ties. The buildings are generally found on the
summit Of some hill; the walls are rarely
under seventy feet in height and always thinner
at the top than at the base. Two more charac-
teristics are common to them all. They are 9
found only near gold mines and they all show
tho same scheme of ornamentation. This ut
tempt at decoration is Of the simplest kind and
consists in placing some of tho layers of blocks
at an acute angle to the layers above and the
layers below. thus producing what is known as
the herring bone pattern. and the side of the
wall that contains this ornamental work invari-
ably faces the rising sun. The majority of these
ruined walls seem to have been constructed for
purposes Of defence, though a few have pos
sibly a religious significance. According to
Theodore Bent's theory they constitute q chain
the native tribes. eliminating at zimbabwc.
The Zimbabwe ruins are split up into two
rocky and precipitous hill and tho other on
comparatively level ground about q third of q
was obviously a fortress. Its outer defences
consist, Of a series of walls, some single,
s ssoand f0l the ]e s.a t and frG soutPR eini 1S p pides
OF the hill-the only sides, that is: from which
built Of the small granite blocks already men.
TONED. arc in parts thirty feet high and thirteen
succession Of monoliths and small. round towers.
From openings in them. narrow passages. barely
x Mias saSssn up to tho si' siSe tG Of the RRs0RRiifil to tow nasi' the Ss
summit nm twisting IL. in HadnIdd,,oUn out among the rocks,
Completely, eo%mandins ovsry, possible up. 9
proach. These passages are fianked in on EACH
bewilderins labyrinth. Although destitute o;
any ROOT, they are dark and gloomy. at tho top
U ii NIL + ruins U / WHaJ WAS OnCc u UtmDI0s' -
and close by Mr.. Bent discovered a gold-smelt- 4.
ing furnace and many curious tools. -
down upon by the fortress omcwhat as the
Acropolis frowns down on Athens or Edinburgh
thirty-fvo feet high in parts and sixteen. feet 2
thick at the base, surrounding about three
rather elliptican than circular. Here. as in the ;
other buildings, the wall is composed of Clipped
but without mortar. Where it faces the rising
sun it is higher and thicker than at other points.
of decoration described before. It has three ;
entrances; the Principal one facing the fortress
passage, formed by the. great surrounding wall
on one side and an inner wall Of the same
yards TO an i6cIosurto. in which stand two solid
towers; also OF granite blocks; one of them !
feet. The actual spp Ca to t this inciosnrs
are defended with buttresses on either side,
probably was liked. obviously this inciosure,
with its two solid towers. was considered espe-
Such arc the main features of the Zimbabwo
ruins. They do not amount to much. but they
What Via S %as the A siRniae el1cee Of this sacred auessI0i IN:
closure and the two solid towers, and what the
mfns'" az G iea asS a Wss eViden nteit tEEa .n0 tho feH ka 2hs
were not RESPONSIBLE for their building; for the
stones. filling up the intersticcs with mud. Ths
natives say that some white men erected the
p Easss 5G"fS; BY, 'e ahS t nfS; and Mr. %0F Bent Is bS.
lieved to have got upon the right track
the Makalangns who live near Zimhabwo 2
and found among them evidences Of semitio
Semitic; their religion, which is n monothcism,
their habit of laying out food for the dead. OF
taking n day OF rest during the ploughiag sea-
son. OF sacrificing goats to ward off pestilenc0
and famine, their wooden pillows which rosem-
bic the head rests used by the Egyptians. their
musical instruments. their drinks oven, all
pointed to some fHr.ot, arabian influence. Turn.
rations on the wall facing the east suggested
worship of the sun as a reproductive power
towers within the Enclosure Nh. Bent had
no. difficulty, in placing them among tho
objects which the Arabians used 10 worship.
illusions to similar towers are constant in tho
Bible. and the ruins in sardinia. Malta. and
Mesopotamia prove there is authority for say
ing that stones have AT some time or other been
worshipped in every country reached by Phg,-
nician influence. Other indications of n north