Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-11-05

have been named, described and located
on the map. Many of the major ruin
cover one or two square miles. and these
show traces In some cases Of temples, as
well as Of Notifications and gold-smelting
furnaces. These. It is thought, are the
remains Of cities. Other minor ruin
show no remains Of temples or gold
smelling furnaces and are thought to
be forts-places Of refuge for the gold
workers or for the caravans conveying
gold to the seacoast.
Temple-Fort Of Great Zimbabwe.
The oldest and most important Of these
cities. the metropolis of the ancient col
ony, the chief center OF its life. worship
and gold-smelting industry. is conceded
to be Great Zimbabwe, situated in south
ern Rhodesia. about ninety miles from
the nearest railroad. which Is branch
from the trunk line between Bulawayo
Salisbury and Beira. The starting point
of the long drive to the ruins Is half
days railway journey from Bulawayo.
with inconvenient connections both by
rail and stare.
These ruins have in important sections
been thoroughly excavated and intel'i-
gently described and discussed by a sue
&c sion Of able Psychologists, including
Hail. The most prominent features OF
the uncovered ruins are the eliiptica'
temple and the hill fort. The temple
has q maximum length of $50 feet; It's
wall has a maximum height of 80 feet
and a maximum base thickness OF ~
feet The southeast outer wall around
the sacred Enclosure inside the temple
is thicker. higher and better built than
any other section, Is OF marvellous SYM
metry. grand proportions. with true
courses o. carefully selected blocks. and
Is adorned q few courses be'ow the sum-
NIT with chevron pattern. and on q
promenade along it's top huge monoliths
were In the original construction inserted
at regular intervals. In the sacred In
closure are two remarkable conical tow
ers, built with beautiful symmetry, the
s.ope OF the curve being carried out with
mathematical accuracy. few courses
below the summit runs denteIe pat pat.
tern. The larger tower was originally
.hirty-five feet high. The towers have
religious purport Of phallic nature
They are held to correspond to the sacred
tower Of the Midianites. Called Penuei,
which, according to the Scriptures, Cid
con destroyed: to the sacred cone In the
ruins OF the Phoenician temple at BybIos.
and to the two very large phalii about
thirty cubits high described by Lucian
as standing in the temple at Hierapolis
In Mesopot amia
Another notable feature OF the interior
OF the temple Is the long. narrow passage
leading direct from the main entrance
to the sacred Enclosure, SO narrow In
abreast, while OH each side rise massive
curving walls. thirty feet in height. and
built. Theodore Bent says. with such
evenness Of courses and symmetry that
as q specimen OF the dry builders art
It is without a parallel
On a nearby granite kopje stands the
imposing Hill fort from go to go feet
above the valley. impregnable by nature
on the precipitOus south side OF the. hill,
protected on other sides by huge beetling
boulders. rising to maximum OF seventy
feet above the fort ruins. and guarded
at its only accessible point by massive
wall thirteen feet thick on the summit and
thirty feet high in parts. The ancient
builders. in addition. exhausted engineer
ing ingenuity and utilized an enormous
supply Of slave labor to make the fort
absolutely unassailable..
Associations Of the ruins Of the Hill
fortress" says r. N. Hall, ''lie even more
with the ancient military occupiers than
with those Of priests and worship.
Traverses, buttresseS. screen walls. int-i-
cate entrances, narrow and sunken pas
saees, banquettes. parapets and all other
devices of people conversant with mill
tary engineering and defense are In
evidence all over the hill. These In inee-
nuity. massive character and persistent
battle and astonish the best experts Of
modern military engineering science"
Gold Smelling at zimbabwe.
In the fort was found a gold-smeltine
furnace made of very hard cement Of
powdered granite. Near the smelter were
excavated little crucibles Of clay. used
for gold smelling, to most Of which small
specks Of gold still adhered: also
burnishers and an ingot mold Of soap
stone In this impreenable spot the an
clients shaped their gold into beads. wires
plates and ingots.
~
from the ruins were soapstone birds
perched on tall columns. conventional In
design, the tallest five feet four inches
high. These are symbolic birds. hawks
or vultures. and represent the female
element In creation. There were also
found thirty-eight small soapstone phalli
decorated soapstone BEAMS many strange
stones, fragments Of bowls with hunting
scenes a soapstone cylinder. glazed pot
terry, battle-ax and arrows and other
weapons and implements.
Until some rich gold find near Great
Zinp5abwe draws the railroad to this point
and renders he ruins more easily accessi-
BILE most visitors to South Africa who are
interested In these relics Of the past will
content themselves with personal inspection
Of the minor zimbabwe. khami. which
lies about fourteen miles from Bulawayo.
TIE Rhodesian city Of magnificent dis
broader than those OF washin ton. with
everything a long ways on from every
thing else, with the hotels mi'e or two
from the railroad sta Ion. and another
mile or two from the zoo and parks.
Bulawayo's principal points Of interest
are the government house, located at the
spot where LObens ula sat In savage judg-
ment which Is three or four miles away !;
Rhodes srave at Ma opos. which ia
nearly thirty miles distant. and the
Khami ruins. which are only fourteen
miles away. The main Bulawayo sights
are out Of sight of Bulawayo.
Ancient Ruins at Khami.
The Khami ruins cover an area over
two miles square. Hall and Neal. in
1.-The Ancient Cities Of Rhodesia," say
Of them:
1.-THE Khami ruins must have formed
an important center for the ancients In
this part OF the country. and evidently
were the capital town for a large god