CULTURE-ZIMBABWE: City Rises from the Ashes

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Janet Sebastian

BULAWAYO, Feb 21 1995 (IPS) - The former 19th century Ndebele city of old Bulawayo, built in 1870 and burnt down 11 years later on the order of King Lobengula, is to be resurrected from its ashes — literally.

The 12,5 million U.S. dollar project is to be funded jointly by the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ) and the University of Birmingham in England. A preliminary study has recently been completed, paving the way for the full excavation and recreation of the urban settlement, to start later this year.

“This is likely to be one of the largest excavations to be undertaken in Zimbabwe in a long time,” said Gwilyn Hughes, head of the British team of archaeologists from Birmingham University.

The full contigent of archaeologists who carried out the study also included two University of Zimbabwe students and five others from the local archaeological department.

Hardly any trace remains above ground of the old capital, 20 kms south-east of the new city of Bulawayo. It will now be rebuilt as a theme park portraying political, economic, cultural and social aspects of the Ndebele people — the second largest ethnic group in this Southern African country.

An intensive feasibility study by ‘York Archaeological Trust’ concluded that the Ndebele theme park could generate more than five million U.S. dollar a year.

Trial excavations have led to the discovery of glass beads, pottery, animal bones and window glass fragments called medden deposits. All the artifacts were found in areas used as rubbish dumps by the Ndebele King Lobengula and his people.

The archaeologists noted that while bones found in the royal disposal areas were burnt, those in the common dump area were unburnt, indicating different disposal methods.

“We will carry out a detailed analysis of the bones, mostly of cattle, to determine the kinds of animals the Ndebele’s used for meat,” said Hughes.

The archeologists also discovered palisades and the charred remains of two wooden posts — which acted as supports to the city, and were burnt down on Lobengula’s orders when he vacated it in 1881, after losing the battle against the invading whites.

“Apart from providing oral history about the way of life of their ancestors, the community, elders and traditional healers in particular, have advised the team of the cultural significance of the sight,” said Ivan Murambiwa of the NMMZ. (MORE)

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