The Great Zimbabwe

This human figure (my wife Gladys )
shows the height of this wall. Surely a formidable
defencive structure in its time.

On top of this wall runs a snake like pattern,
said to be a fertility symbol.
Does it make a lot of sense to weaken a defensive
wall by the addition of a symbol of any kind ?

The end of this Inner Wall shows clearly
that no binding agent of any kind was used.
Only a good fit from stone to stone
and gravity made this a solid structure.

A grain silo ?
Not likely. Its centre is not hollow.
The entire structure is a solid work of stone.
Since it had no apparant practical use,
it must have had symbolic purpose.
What did it symbolise? Since it was higher than the wall,
it was clearly visible to anybody approaching.
Was it just a "bragging tool" ?
A message saying to a peaceful visitor:
"You are coming to a very special place"
Or was it meant to tell an approaching foe:
"Don't even try ! If we can build something like this,
we can beat the hell out of you too."

Anyway, here is a peaceful visitor,
who was duly impressed and had
Lunch amidst the "Great Zimbabwe"