Mapungubwe Hill

Mapungubwe

South Africa · Limpopo

SettlementUnknownUNESCO · 2003
Approximate period1,220 CE — 1,300 CELate Iron Age; approximate end date See on the map ↓

In brief

The elite settlement and graves on the hill yielded important finds documenting social stratification and long-distance trade in southern Africa. Scientific excavations that began in 1933 uncovered gold-covered figures and rich grave goods.

What was found?

  • 1Gold rhinoceros

    This animal figure was made by shaping thin gold sheet around a core. It is an important example of Mapungubwe's intricate metalworking.

  • 2Gold bovine figure

    The gold animal figures recovered from excavations include a bovine. It documents the use of animal forms in precious metal objects.

  • 3Gold feline figure

    This gold figure is identified as a leopard in the University of Pretoria's collection description. Together with the rhinoceros and bovine, it forms the group of figurative gold objects.

  • 4Gold beads

    Numerous gold beads forming necklace strands have been found. They show that gold was also used to produce small decorative pieces.

  • 5Gold scepter

    Described as a scepter or scepter head, this object consists of thin gold covering originally attached to a wooden core. Its elaborate craftsmanship makes it one of the collection's principal pieces.

What does it point to?

The gold objects demonstrate specialized craftsmanship alongside a substantial accumulation of wealth. According to researchers, the separation of the ruling settlement on the hill from the surrounding population was associated with leadership invested with sacred status and pronounced social stratification.

What did it teach us?

  1. It documented the working of thin gold sheets to make figures and a scepter.
  2. The settlement layout showed that the ruling group was spatially separated from surrounding communities.
  3. Imported porcelain and glass beads revealed that the inland kingdom was connected to Indian Ocean trade networks.

Images

Mapungubwe gold beads and jewellery - Museum of Gems and Jewellery
Vassia Atanassova – Spiritia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Treetop Walk Mapungubwe National Park South Africa
amanderson2 · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Record

Culture
Kingdom of Mapungubwe
First modern dig
1933
Team / historical
University of Pretoria
Coordinates
-22.1925°, 29.2389°

Sources

  1. whc.unesco.org
  2. repository.up.ac.za
  3. Pretoria Üniversitesi Müzeleri — Altın koleksiyonu
  4. Pretoria Üniversitesi Müzeleri / Google Arts & Culture — Altın asa
  5. Güney Afrika Cumhurbaşkanlığı — Mapungubwe eserleri

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12.000

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