Khami, also spelled Khame, Kame, or Kami, is a ruined city situated 22 kilometers (14 miles) west of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. It was once the capital of the Kingdom of Butua, which belonged to the Torwa dynasty. Today, it is protected as a national monument and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986.

Context

The settlement we see today developed from the architectural style that appeared at Great Zimbabwe in the 13th century AD and from the Leopard's Kopje culture, which built rough stone platforms for houses. Khami shows an innovation that considered the environment where it was built. The area around Khami is near rivers, is hot, and had problems with malaria. The stone found at Khami (laminar granite) is different from the stone in other parts of Zimbabwe (biotite). Mixed with dolerite, this stone was harder to cut and produced irregular building stones. Estimates show that over 60% of the stone from these quarries was not suitable for building. The building blocks needed to be shaped, but even then, the stones were not good for making free-standing dry stone walls. Builders made an innovation by creating retaining walls instead. Second, building platforms made houses cooler than those in open areas below. It also helped reduce malaria for the people who lived in the built-up areas. The walls are gravity retaining walls made without mortar. Unlike at Great Zimbabwe, some walls at Khami have foundations made with large blocks that would have required at least four people to lift. Excavations show well-planned buildings, especially at the Hill Complex, which was used by the king. The complex was first built by creating terraces of rough walling. These stable walls were then covered with high-quality dressed stone blocks. Each terrace was decorated with patterns such as checkerboard, herringbone, or cord. The terraces leaned inward to prevent collapses caused by gravity. The inward-leaning terraces likely had wooden poles for guards to hold onto as they walked along the high, steep walls.

History

Khami was the capital of the Torwa dynasty for about 200 years, starting around 1450. It was probably built when the state at Great Zimbabwe ended. In 1683, Changamire Dombo took control of Khami. He led an army of Rozvi rebels from the Mwenemutapa ("Monomotapa") State. Archaeologists found that the site was not used after the Rozvi took over. The Rozvi later built a new capital called Danamombe (Dhlo-Dhlo). In the 1830s, Nguni-speaking Ndebele raiders forced the Rozvi to leave Khami and other places they had built.

The Khami site has seven areas where the royal family lived. Open spaces in the valley were where common people lived. The complex includes circular, sometimes stepped, platforms made with dry stone walls. A large, decorated wall that is 6 meters high and 68 meters long surrounds a raised platform. This wall has a checkerboard pattern. The platforms, which are 2–7 meters above the ground, had clay huts and courtyards for people of lower status. Below the Hill Complex, remains of cattle pens and homes for ordinary people can be seen. The ruins include a royal area called the Hill Complex, which was higher than other buildings. There are also stone walls, hut platforms, and a Christian cross, which may have been placed by a missionary. Other ruins are found on the eastern side of the Khami River. Some platforms are believed to have been cattle pens, and a wall with a chequered pattern is present. Recent excavations from 2000 to 2006 showed that the walls in the western part of the Hill Complex had chequered, herringbone, cord, and colorful stone patterns.

Conservation

In the early 2000s, the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe started a program to protect and document the stone walls. Important successes include making the terrace walls on the Main, Cross, and North platforms stronger and repairing them. From 2000 to 2007, people from the C.H.A.M association helped with the work.