Rebuilding an ancient southern African kingdom

Nearly 80 years of intensive collaborative multidisciplinary research on the Iron Age settlement complex of

Mapungubwe, now a proclaimed world heritage site in the Limpopo River Valley, led to the publication of the book Mapungubwe remembered by the University of Pretoria in late 2011. This book bears testimony to the major role that the University played in the recovery, documentation, conservation and educational presentation of this historic site.

Researchers in the School for Mapungubwe Hill lies on the border copper, gold, glass and natural between South Africa, Zimbabwe and materials. the Built Environment made Botswana on the farm Greefswald in the central Limpopo River Valley. After the discovery of the treasure significant contributions to the For centuries, it had no signifi cant of Mapungubwe, the University of meaning for anyone, apart from being Pretoria established the Greefswald book and are continuing with part of the beautiful natural Limpopo Archaeological Project, now known their ethno-architectural research landscape. This was until 1933, when as the Mapungubwe Archaeological a young man who had stumbled upon Project. Over the years, researchers for the digital reconstruction of gold treasures on the hill called the from various disciplines worked on University of Pretoria to the site. This unlocking the history of the site and traditional settlement patterns led to the discovery of the capital of have jointly gathered a legacy of an ancient African Iron Age kingdom public and scientifi c knowledge of the and African architecture at and another similar capital nearby, Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape. known as K2 or Bambandyanalo. Mapungubwe and other sites. As archaeological research efforts When the inhabitants of Mapungubwe on the site progressed, Mapungubwe Hill abandoned this African capital was recognised as one of the best towards the end of the 13th century, Iron Age sites in the country and they left a wealth of evidence of an one of the most important cultural ancestral southern African society heritage sites in Africa. In 1995, behind – clay pots, and various South African National Parks objects and tools made from iron, (SANParks) declared Mapungubwe

FEATURES 42 INNOVATE 7 2012 and the surrounding landscape as This, in addition to remnants of the Mapungubwe National Park grain seeds in burnt granary huts, (initially known as the Vhembe- the skeletal remains of domestic Dongola National Park). In 2000, the animals and remnants of manure University of Pretoria opened the in a kraal-like structure, provides Mapungubwe Museum on its Hatfi eld valuable information about the Campus with a display of selected lifestyle and agricultural activities artefacts from the University’s that these communities practised. Mapungubwe research collection. In 2003, the Mapungubwe landscape In spite of the time lapse of was declared a United Nations approximately 700 years between Educational, Scientifi c and Cultural the settlement of Mapungubwe and Organization (UNESCO) world the current kingdoms in the Limpopo heritage site. region, and despite the diversity of languages spoken in the region, For centuries, Ancient architectural remains researchers realised that there seemed to be remarkable similarities Mapungubwe Of particular interest to the between the subsistence and had no significant School for the Built Environment settlement traditions of the existing is one of the key features of the Sesotho- and isiVenda-speaking meaning for Mapungubwe site: the remains of communities that still reside in anyone, apart the traditional African architecture the region today and the ancient that was revealed throughout the architecture and objects found in the from being part archaeological excavations at Mapungubwe area. of the beautiful Mapungubwe and K2. This inspired researchers in natural Limpopo During the excavations, researchers the Department of Construction landscape. This found architectural features dating Economics to embark on an back to between 1000 and 1300 AD. interdisciplinary study to formally was until 1933, At K2, researchers found remains of research the cultural heritage when a young a homestead complex with structures landscapes and architecture of the such as groups of different round communities that currently live in man who had pole-and-daub structures or huts, the Limpopo region in relation to the stumbled upon including large structures thought to structures found at Mapungubwe have been sleeping huts that had an and K2, and to use the similarities gold treasures inner wall surrounded by an outer they uncovered to digitally on the hill called wall; medium-sized single-walled reconstruct this ancient southern huts that were in some cases used African kingdom. the University of for storage, one of which contained Pretoria to the site. an elephant tusk; and small granary Ethnographic analogy huts. Over the past few years, In the Mapungubwe settlement area, researchers from the University of researchers found architectural Pretoria have been working closely features such as stone walls and with Thovhele MPK Tshivhase, stone steps, small stone platforms, the king of the Tshivhase kingdom pole-and-daub huts and gravel of the VhaVenda at Sibasa in the fl oors, as well as the remains of northwestern part of Limpopo, ceramic vessels and fi gurines, together with his Royal Council, as metal artefacts, trade glass beads well as with Kgosi TJ Maleboho, and other cultural objects. A large king of the BaHananwa of Blouberg number of different gold objects were in the northeast of Limpopo and his found on top of and surrounding Royal Council, to gather information Mapungubwe Hill. on their cultural traditions.

FEATURES 43 INNOVATE 7 2012  There are some striking similarities between the architecture and traditions of the BaHananwa and VhaVenda tribes of Limpopo, Zimbabwe and Botswana surrounding the Mapungubwe area, and the cultural and architectural remains at the Mapungubwe and K2 sites.

Image courtesy of Eloff (1979). Image courtesy of Van der Waal (1977).

 Sunken stone stamping blocks (above left) were found in the Mapungubwe area, and are similar to the sunken stone stamping blocks that the VhaVenda used as cereal stamping blocks in the 1970s (above right). The people of the Mapungubwe area are thought to have used these sunken stone blocks to pound grain into fl our, just as the VhaVenda have done up to recent times.

Image courtesy of Eloff (1979).

Image courtesy of Huffman (1974).

 A number of circular hut wall trenches with pole holes (top left) were found in the settlement layers at K2 and Mapungubwe and are thought to be remains of small storage huts or granaries, similar to the structures that can still be seen in some traditional villages in Limpopo, such as the Venda granaries photographed in 2010 (top right) and the Kalanga granaries recorded in Western Zimbabwe in the 1970s (bottom right).

FEATURES 44 INNOVATE 7 2012 Image courtesy of Fouche (1937). Image courtesy of Cunningham and Terry (2006).

 Two circular stone structures (above left) were excavated at the summit of Mapungubwe Hill in 1934 and seem to be similar to the stone structures that local communities have used until recently to support woven granary storage baskets in Lesotho (above right).

Image courtesy of Meyer (1998).

 Some large stone stamping rocks with a semi-circular wall (above left) were found at Mapungubwe. This is thought to be part of a threshing fl oor on which the Mapungubwe people threshed and stamped dried grain, like the Shona-Ndau people in Mozambique were doing in the 1900s (above right).

 Numerous bangles and golden anklets or leg rings were found as funerary ware on K2 and particularly on the summit of Mapungubwe Hill (above left). People in the Limpopo region today still manufacture similar objects for cultural use, such as the metal anklets that form part of the ceremonial dress of Venda girls (above right).

FEATURES 45 INNOVATE 7 2012 Mapungubwe remembered

In August 2011, the University The ancient architecture and objects found in of Pretoria published the Mapungubwe area inspired researchers Mapungubwe remembered, a 300-page book that celebrates in the Department of Construction Economics the almost 80 years that to study the architecture of the communities the University invested in excavating, discovering and that currently live in the Limpopo region and to documenting the ancient life use the similarities they uncovered to digitally of the inhabitants of K2 and Mapungubwe. reconstruct this ancient southern African kingdom. The book was compiled to serve as a remembrance and research legacy; a tribute to the former inhabitants of this Digital reconstruction The cultural and agricultural unique Iron Age settlement features of the settlement, as well – considered to be the most The research into the relationship as the games they were thought to important Iron Age site in between the Mapungubwe have played, will be reconstructed the southern hemisphere; a architecture and traditions, and to create and add detail to the reference work for students, the traditions and features of reconstructed settlement. researchers and anyone the surviving tribes in the area interested in the history of is ongoing. The kings of the This will serve as an excellent Mapungubwe; and lastly to tell communities are providing valuable educational tool for tourists and local the story of the University’s insights into the project, passing residents, and could be used to train involvement in the discovery on traditional knowledge that can the tour guides that work at the site. and documentation of this be used to explain the cultural Such a project was successfully site. It contains a special and architectural remains at the completed and implemented for chapter on Jerry van Graan’s Mapungubwe and K2 sites. Thulamela in the Kruger National recollection of how he and Park. his father ventured into the The Department of Construction Limpopo River Valley in search Economics is now using the data The oral traditions of the kings of the graves and treasures collected over nearly 80 years of of the tribes will play a major that they truly believed were research, together with oral data part in ensuring that the digital waiting to be discovered. from the kings of the local tribes, reconstructions are as accurate as combined with different authors’ possible. Recording their culture Mapungubwe remembered published ethnographic records of and traditions will supplement the is a collection of articles similar ethno-architecture elsewhere digital reconstruction of the heritage written by 20 authors who in southern Africa, to digitally rebuild remains of Mapungubwe. These have been intimately involved Mapungubwe. community leaders are grateful for in the research into the the opportunity to have their own discovery and documentation The aim of this interdisciplinary communities’ heritage offi cially of Mapungubwe over the project is to create a 3D video that recorded and conserved for future years. Each of the articles takes the audience through the generations. The researchers are provides the authors’ personal digitally reconstructed, historic capital looking into obtaining intellectual views and inputs regarding of Mapungubwe. The sleeping huts, property rights for some of the their respective research granaries, stamping blocks, threshing discovered features, so that these fields and involvement in the fl oors and other main structures will communities’ ancestral legacies can Mapungubwe project. be digitally ‘rebuilt’. be legally protected.

FEATURES 46 INNOVATE 7 2012  The digital reconstruction of the Iron Age settlement of Thulamela in the Kruger National Park.

 A representation of the double-walled structures found at  A maize storage hut that was digitally reconstructed, K2 that are thought to have been sleeping huts. based on the trenches with poles found in the Mapungubwe area and the storage huts that can still be found in communities in the Limpopo region today.

FEATURES 47 INNOVATE 7 2012