38 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS [VOL. 50 



South African police, and I am indebted to this gentleman and his 

 comrades for much courtesy and kindness. 



II. Notes on the Ichickwanda Ruins 



These ruins are situated one mile northeast of the Webster ruin 

 and on the same ridge. They are on the extremity of the spur, the 

 descent being sharp and some hundreds of feet into the valley below. 

 They consist of one main ruin surrounded by four other inferior 

 ruins or rough stone enclosures. 



I spent some fourteen days clearing and working all of them, but 

 the result was again practically nothing. However, an account of 

 the main ruin may be of interest, as in some respects it resembles 

 the famous pit dwellings at Inyanga, so clearly described by Dr. 

 Randall Maclver in his work " Mediaeval Rhodesia." 



The structure is as near as possible circular, being built of large 

 stones, averaging 70 pounds in weight, which in some instances are 

 slightly dressed. It consists of one circular room, or kya, extremely 

 neatly built up. This room is exactly 4 meters in diameter, and the 

 height of walls, as they presently stand, average 2.7 m. There is 

 no attempt at bonding, and no mortar has been used. The walls of 

 the dwelling are in perfect condition inside, with the exception of 

 the very tops; clearly stones are missing here. Roots of the trees 

 have grown out and in among the walls, forming sorts of clamps, 

 and just at present binding them very strongly. 



Measuring from any point inside the dwelling walls to the ex- 

 treme edge of the outside wall, the average is about 6 m. wide. 

 Many of the stones — in fact, many tons in all — have rolled down, 

 yet portions of the original walls are here and there to be seen. 



The entrance faces due south and on the west side is beautifully 

 rounded, though the east side has been destroyed, but I am of the 

 opinion that this side was not rounded, for the reason that the east 

 wall of the entrance inside is not rounded, while the west again in- 

 side is rounded. The length of the entrance is 3.5 m. and the width 

 in no part exceeds 70 cm. Inside the dwelling on the north side 

 two stones, each about 70 cm. apart and in equal distance from the 

 top and floor, project from the wall, and were no doubt used as 

 steps. The diameter of building is about 14 meters. 



One can only suppose this to have been the dwelling of human 

 creatures ; it could not have been built as a cattle kraal, as bullocks, 

 at any rate, could not have gone through the entrance, and surely 

 such enormous walls were not necessary to enclose cattle. It may 



