Archaeological Prospection Archaeol. Prospect. 12, 31–49 (2005) Published online 17 December 2004 in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/arp.241 Geophysical Surveys at King Lobengula’s Palace KoBulawayo, Zimbabwe C. GAFFNEY 1 *, G. HUGHES 2 AND J. GATER 1 1 GSB Prospection Ltd, Cowburn Farm, Market Street, Thornton, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD13 3HW, UK 2 Cambria Archaeology (Dyfed Archaeological Trust), The Shire Hall, Carmarthen Street, Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire,Wales SA19 6AF, UK ABSTRACT This report covers the application of magnetic survey, primarily using a magnetic susceptibility field instrument, at the historically attested site of KoBulawayo, Zimbabwe. The approximate position of the site was known before the geophysical survey took place; it was believed to comprise a Royal En- closure, a surrounding open space possibly used as a military parade ground and the Commoner/Per- ipheral Settlement of Lobengula, King of the Ndebele. Occupation at the site was short lived and after only11years the capital of the Ndebele state was destroyed by fire in1881. A pilot survey was underta- kenin1994 to assessthe suitabilityof survey techniques.Consequently, a second, more extensive sur- vey was carried out in late 1996 and early 1997 with the intention of delimiting the Royal Enclosure. Furtherperiodsofdatacollectiontookplacelaterin1997andin1998.Thisreportdescribesthemethods used and the interpretation of the geophysical resultsin the context of the understanding and manage- ment of this important historical site. Additionally, some of the results of the geophysical work have been tested by excavation and a discussion of the correlation between these data sets is also reported in this article.Copyright ß 2004 JohnWiley & Sons, Ltd. Key words: magnetic susceptibility; Zimbabwe; KoBulawayo; Ndebele; King Lobengula Introduction During the short period AD 1870–1881 a low oval hill, approximately 16.5 km to the southeast of Bulawayo, was ultized as the capital of the Ndebele, or Matabele state under King Lobengula (Figure 1). Although the Ndebele state could be described as multi-ethnic, the military and political organization is derived, in part, from its Zulu heritage. For reasons that are far from clear the king moved his palace and entourage to modern Bulawayo in 1881. He ordered the destruction of KoBulawayo and the site was razed to the ground by fire. Through this act of deliberate destruction Lobengula signified the end of the palace and entered the site into the archaeological record. Significantly, the act of burning can create dramatic increases in the magnetic properties of the buried soil, which are important for location using geophysical means and the archaeological interpretation of the site (see Linford and Canti, 2001; Peters et al., 2001; Weston, 2002). The layout and general architecture of KoBulawayo can be reconstructed from three principal types of source: archaeological remains, pictorial sources and written descriptions (the latter two by missionaries, traders and other Copyright # 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Received 23 August 2004 Accepted 28 August 2004 * Correspondence to: C. Gaffney, GSB Prospection Ltd, Cowburn Farm, Market Street, Thornton, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD13 3HW, UK. E-mail: gsbprospection@btconnect.com