Khami
Encyclopedia
Khami is a ruined city located in what is now Zimbabwe
. It was once the capital of the Kingdom of Butua of the Torwa dynasty
. It is located 22 kilometers west of the modern city of Bulawayo
, capital of the province of Matabeleland North
. Its ruins are now a national monument in Zimbabwe. Khami is also a UNESCO
World Heritage Site
. It was added to UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1986.
in the 13th century AD and a local Leopard's Kopje culture that built platform of rough walling on which houses would be constructed. Khami marks an innovation that recognized the environment in which was built. The area around Khami being riverine is hot and had problems with malaria.the stone found at Khami (laminar granite) was different to that found in other areas of Zimbabwe (biotite. With a mixture of dolerite this stone was harder to quarry and produced shapeless building stone. It can be estimated that over 60% of the stone produced at these quarried would not be of building quality. The building blocks thus needed to be shaped, but even then the stones were not suitable for building free standing dry stone walls. The builders thus made an innovation and produced retaining walls instead. Secondly building platforms made the houses cooler than those in the open areas below. It also eliminated the problem of malaria for the lucky royals who stayed in the built up areas. The walls are gravity retaining walls built without mortar. Unlike at Great Zimbabwe some of the walls at Khami have foundations built with huge blocks which would have been lifted by at least 4 people. Excavations have revealed well planned buildings especially at the Hill Complex which was occupied the king. The complex was first built up by creating terraces of rough walling. These rough walls which are very stable were then covered up by quality walling of dressed stone blocks. Each terrace was highly decorated with either checkboard pattern, heringbone, or cord pattern. The terraces leaned inwards so that gravity would not cause collapses. The terraces that were created by leaning inwards had wooden poles probably for the guards to hold on to as they walked along the high and steep walls.
for about 200 years from around 1450 and appears to have been founded at the time of the disappearance of the state at Great Zimbabwe
. After that, (the traditional date is 1683), it was ransacked by Changamire Dombo who led an army of Rozvi rebels from the Mwenemutapa/Monomotapa State. Excavations seem to show that the site was not occupied after these Rozvi took over. The Rozvi made another Khami phase site, Danamombe
(Dhlo-Dhlo), their new capital. In the 1830s Nguni speaking Ndebele
raiders displaced them from Khami and many of the other sites they had established.
The site of Khami reveals seven built-up areas occupied by the royal family with open areas in the valley occupied by the commoners. The complex comprises circular, sometimes terraced, artificial platforms encased by dry stone walls. The beautifully decorated 6m-high by 68m-long retaining wall of the precipice platform bears a checkerboard design along its entire length. The platforms, rising 2–7m above the ground, carried dhaka (clay) huts and courtyards where those of status lived. The remnants of cattle kraals and huts for ordinary people can be seen below the Hill complex The ruins include a royal enclosure or Hill Complex, which had to be on higher ground than other buildings, stone wall
s and hut platforms, and also a Christian cross
believed to have been placed by a contemporary missionary
. There are also ruins on the eastern side of the Khami River. Other platforms are believed to have been cattle
kraal
s and a retaining wall
with a chequered pattern. Recent excavations (2000-2006) have revealed that the walls of the western parts of the Hill Complex were all decorated in chequer, herringbone, cord, as well as variegated stone blocks.
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
. It was once the capital of the Kingdom of Butua of the Torwa dynasty
Torwa dynasty
The Torwa dynasty was the ruling family of the Butua kingdom that arose from the collapse of Great Zimbabwe in the sixteenth and seventeenth century, founded perhaps by the legendary Dlembeu....
. It is located 22 kilometers west of the modern city of Bulawayo
Bulawayo
Bulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe after the capital Harare, with an estimated population in 2010 of 2,000,000. It is located in Matabeleland, 439 km southwest of Harare, and is now treated as a separate provincial area from Matabeleland...
, capital of the province of Matabeleland North
Matabeleland North
Matabeleland North is a province in western Zimbabwe. It borders the provinces of Midlands and Mashonaland West to the east and northeast respectively, and the province of Matabeleland South and the city of Bulawayo to the south. Its northern border is defined by the Zambezi river, while its...
. Its ruins are now a national monument in Zimbabwe. Khami is also a UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
. It was added to UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1986.
Context
The settlement that we see today was a development of the architectural form that emerged at Great ZimbabweGreat Zimbabwe
Great Zimbabwe is a ruined city that was once the capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe, which existed from 1100 to 1450 C.E. during the country’s Late Iron Age. The monument, which first began to be constructed in the 11th century and which continued to be built until the 14th century, spanned an...
in the 13th century AD and a local Leopard's Kopje culture that built platform of rough walling on which houses would be constructed. Khami marks an innovation that recognized the environment in which was built. The area around Khami being riverine is hot and had problems with malaria.the stone found at Khami (laminar granite) was different to that found in other areas of Zimbabwe (biotite. With a mixture of dolerite this stone was harder to quarry and produced shapeless building stone. It can be estimated that over 60% of the stone produced at these quarried would not be of building quality. The building blocks thus needed to be shaped, but even then the stones were not suitable for building free standing dry stone walls. The builders thus made an innovation and produced retaining walls instead. Secondly building platforms made the houses cooler than those in the open areas below. It also eliminated the problem of malaria for the lucky royals who stayed in the built up areas. The walls are gravity retaining walls built without mortar. Unlike at Great Zimbabwe some of the walls at Khami have foundations built with huge blocks which would have been lifted by at least 4 people. Excavations have revealed well planned buildings especially at the Hill Complex which was occupied the king. The complex was first built up by creating terraces of rough walling. These rough walls which are very stable were then covered up by quality walling of dressed stone blocks. Each terrace was highly decorated with either checkboard pattern, heringbone, or cord pattern. The terraces leaned inwards so that gravity would not cause collapses. The terraces that were created by leaning inwards had wooden poles probably for the guards to hold on to as they walked along the high and steep walls.
History
Khami was the capital of the Torwa dynastyTorwa dynasty
The Torwa dynasty was the ruling family of the Butua kingdom that arose from the collapse of Great Zimbabwe in the sixteenth and seventeenth century, founded perhaps by the legendary Dlembeu....
for about 200 years from around 1450 and appears to have been founded at the time of the disappearance of the state at Great Zimbabwe
Great Zimbabwe
Great Zimbabwe is a ruined city that was once the capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe, which existed from 1100 to 1450 C.E. during the country’s Late Iron Age. The monument, which first began to be constructed in the 11th century and which continued to be built until the 14th century, spanned an...
. After that, (the traditional date is 1683), it was ransacked by Changamire Dombo who led an army of Rozvi rebels from the Mwenemutapa/Monomotapa State. Excavations seem to show that the site was not occupied after these Rozvi took over. The Rozvi made another Khami phase site, Danamombe
Danamombe
Danamombe is a Zimbabwean archaeological site, about eighty kilometres from Gweru, in the direction of Bulawayo and about 35 kilometres south of the highway. It is not often visited due to the poor quality roads in the area. The remains on the site resemble those of Khami...
(Dhlo-Dhlo), their new capital. In the 1830s Nguni speaking Ndebele
Ndebele people (Zimbabwe)
The Ndebele are a branch of the Zulus who split from King Shaka in the early 1820s under the leadership of Mzilikazi, a former general in Shaka's army....
raiders displaced them from Khami and many of the other sites they had established.
The site of Khami reveals seven built-up areas occupied by the royal family with open areas in the valley occupied by the commoners. The complex comprises circular, sometimes terraced, artificial platforms encased by dry stone walls. The beautifully decorated 6m-high by 68m-long retaining wall of the precipice platform bears a checkerboard design along its entire length. The platforms, rising 2–7m above the ground, carried dhaka (clay) huts and courtyards where those of status lived. The remnants of cattle kraals and huts for ordinary people can be seen below the Hill complex The ruins include a royal enclosure or Hill Complex, which had to be on higher ground than other buildings, stone wall
Stone wall
Stone walls are a kind of masonry construction which have been made for thousands of years. First they were constructed by farmers and primitive people by piling loose field stones in what is called a dry stone wall, then later with the use of mortar and plaster especially in the construction of...
s and hut platforms, and also a Christian cross
Christian cross
The Christian cross, seen as a representation of the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, is the best-known religious symbol of Christianity...
believed to have been placed by a contemporary missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
. There are also ruins on the eastern side of the Khami River. Other platforms are believed to have been cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
kraal
Kraal
Kraal is an Afrikaans and Dutch word for an enclosure for cattle or other livestock, located within an African settlement or village surrounded by a palisade, mud wall, or other fencing, roughly circular in form.In the Dutch language a kraal is a term derived from the Portuguese word , cognate...
s and a retaining wall
Retaining wall
Retaining walls are built in order to hold back earth which would otherwise move downwards. Their purpose is to stabilize slopes and provide useful areas at different elevations, e.g...
with a chequered pattern. Recent excavations (2000-2006) have revealed that the walls of the western parts of the Hill Complex were all decorated in chequer, herringbone, cord, as well as variegated stone blocks.
See also
- DanamombeDanamombeDanamombe is a Zimbabwean archaeological site, about eighty kilometres from Gweru, in the direction of Bulawayo and about 35 kilometres south of the highway. It is not often visited due to the poor quality roads in the area. The remains on the site resemble those of Khami...
- Great ZimbabweGreat ZimbabweGreat Zimbabwe is a ruined city that was once the capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe, which existed from 1100 to 1450 C.E. during the country’s Late Iron Age. The monument, which first began to be constructed in the 11th century and which continued to be built until the 14th century, spanned an...
- ZiwaZiwaZiwa, or Ziwa ruins is the name used to describe the remains of a vast late Iron Age agricultural settlement that has been dated to the 17th century. The site is located in Nyanga, Zimbabwe. Ziwa was declared a National Monument in 1946 and is currently under consideration for World Heritage listing...
- List of World Heritage Sites in Africa.
External links
- Pictures of Khami Ruins,Bulawayo Zimbabwe
- Trail Guide of Khami Ruins,Bulawayo Zimbabwe
- Khami Ruins National Monument – UNESCO World Heritage Centre