Thulamela

Thulamela was a stone-walled hilltop centre south of the Limpopo, belonging to the wider Zimbabwe tradition of southern Africa. Its ruler's residence stood above the surrounding countryside, while farming communities cultivated sorghum and millet in the fertile land below. The site flourished around the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, joining regional agriculture and metalworking to far-reaching exchange.

Gold objects, an iron gong, spindle whorls and imported glass beads reveal some of the skills and connections of its inhabitants. Ivory and gold moved towards the eastern coast, where merchants exchanged them for cloth, beads and glazed ceramics from across the Indian Ocean. Oral traditions connect Thulamela with a sacred ruler, or khosi, whose authority joined the community to the land and the ancestors.