author
R. N. (Richard Nicklin) Hall
1853–1914
A British writer, journalist, and amateur archaeologist, he became closely associated with Great Zimbabwe and the heated debates around its origins in the early 1900s. His books capture both the energy of colonial-era exploration and the ideas that shaped archaeology in southern Africa at the time.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in 1853, Richard Nicklin Hall trained as a solicitor in England before emigrating to Rhodesia. There he worked as a journalist and public figure, and he also wrote fiction, including Life among the Matabele Kopjes in 1896.
Hall is best remembered for his involvement with Great Zimbabwe. From the late 1890s into the early 1900s he wrote extensively about the ruins, and in 1902 he was appointed curator at the site after new protective legislation was introduced. His major works include The Ancient Ruins of Rhodesia, Great Zimbabwe, Mashonaland, Rhodesia, and Prehistoric Rhodesia.
He died in 1914. Today, Hall remains an important historical figure for readers interested in southern African archaeology and colonial writing, though some of his conclusions about Great Zimbabwe are now understood as products of the assumptions and debates of his era.