In Southern Africa one finds ancient and widespread traditions of building in stone. Two broad categories of these tradition have been noted: 1. Zimbabwean style 2. Transvaal Free State style. North of the Zambezi one finds very little stone ruins.[31]
Mapungubwe is considered the most socially complex society in southern Africa. The first southern African culture to display economic differentiation. The elite was separated on a mountain settlement, made of sandstone. It was the precursor to Great Zimbabwe. Large tracks of dirt was carried to the top of the hill. At the bottom of the hill was a natural amphipheater and at the top elite graveyard. There was only two pathway to the top, one was a narrow steep cleft along the side of the hill which observers at the top had a clear view.
The conical tower inside the Great Enclosure in Great Zimbabwe, a medieval city built by a prosperous culture
Great Zimbabwe is the largest medieval city in sub-Saharan Africa. Great Zimbabwe was constructed and expanded for more than 300 years in a local style that eschewed rectilinearity for flowing curves. Neither the first nor the last of some 300 similar complexes located on the Zimbabwean plateau, Great Zimbabwe is set apart by the terrific scale of its structure. Its most formidable edifice, commonly referred to as the Great Enclosure, has dressed stone walls as high as 36 feet extending approximately 820 feet, making it the largest ancient structure south of the Sahara Desert. Houses within the enclosure were circular and constructed of wattle and daub, with conical thatched roofs.
Thulamela was a counterpart of Mapungubwe and Great Zimbabwe that displayed similar architectural design and method.
Terraced hill, entranceway of Khami, capital of the Torwa State
Khami was the capital of the Torwa State and the successor of Great Zimbabwe. The techniques of Great Zimbabwe were further refined and developed. Elaborate walls were constructed by connecting carefully cut stones forming terraced hills.[32]
Sotho/Tswana Architecture represent the other stone building tradition of southern Africa, centered in the transvaal, highveld north and south of the Vaal. Numerous large stonewalled enclosures and stoned housed foundations have been found in the region.[33] The capital Molokweni of the Kwena(Tswana) was a stoned wall town as large as the Eastern Lunda capital.[34]
Zulu Architecture was constructed with more perishable materials. Dome shaped huts typically comes to mind when one thinks of Zulu dwellings, but later on it evolve into dome over cylinder shape walls. Zulu capitals were elliptical in shape. The exterior was lined with durable wood palisade. Domed huts in rows of 6 through 8 lined the interior of exterior palisades. In the center of the capital city was the kraal,used by the king to examine his soldiers, holding cattle, or ceremonies. It was an empty circular area at the center of the capital, lined with less durable palisades compared to the exterior palisades. The entrance of the city was opposite to the highly fortified Royal Enclosure called the Isigodlo. This was the general makeup of Zulu capitals Mgungundlovu(King Dingane's capital) and Ulundi(King Cetshwayo's capital).
Ndebele Architecture
||Khauxa!nas was a wall construct in southeastern Namibia built by Oorlam(Khoi). Its perimeter was 700 meters and 2 meters in height. It was built with stone slabs and displays features of both the Zimbabwean and Transvaal Free State style of stone construction.
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