Khame Ruins, Zimbabwe

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Khame (also written as Kame or Kami) was the capital of the Torwa State that emerged as a strong power in southwestern Zimbabwe after the decline of Great Zimbabwe in the 15th Century. In the late 17th Century the site was burned and levelled by the Rozwi, who then took it over. In the 1830s Nguni speaking Ndebele raiders displaced them from Khame and many of the other sites they had established.

The Khame 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. Nearby is a Mujejeje (ringing stone) and tsoro game boards (see Ed. 4, p48) carved into flat-topped stones. A variety of artefacts discovered at Khame are to be seen in the museum on site or in Bulawayo 22km to the east.