482 



Report S.A.A. Advancement of Science. 



As a general rule the larger ruins are situated on or near the 

 granite area, and occupy commanding situations on the kopjes or 

 bosses, the huge scattered boulders being frequently used to form 

 part of the walls, which must have been erected for defensive pur- 

 poses. 



The blocks of granite used in the walls of these ruins are, as a 

 rule, 7 to II inches in length, and 2 J to 5 inches in thickness, 

 roughly worked into rectangular shapes. The lower courses of some 

 of the higher walls are often built of larger blocks. 



REGINA RUIXS. PECULIAR FUNNEL-SHAPED HOLE BUILT UP THROUGH 

 RUBBLE FILLING IN A TKRRACE. IT LEADS NOWHERE. 



The blocks are carefully 'aid, and are generally in regular 

 courses. In walls of the best class the joints are generally broken. 

 Tnere is no regular system of bonding courses. Many walls are 

 faced on both sides, the interior being filled up with loose rubble, 

 evidently the rejected pieces of stone. No cement or mortar was 

 laid between the blocks. As a proof of the excellence of the work, 

 the walls of the " Temple " at Zimbabwe can be cited. They are in 

 parts 30 feet in height. 16 feet thick at the base, and stand as firmly 

 to-day as when they Avere built. 



