To most this is just another featureless hill in a featureless landscape, but ladies and gents, this is Mapungubwe Hill. I won't write you an essay on the significance of Mapungubwe in Iron Age southern Africa - I already had to do that in third year! If you're interested you can check out the Wikipedia entry here. Suffice it to say, this simple stone koppie caused quite a stir among many a group of archaeologists! And rightly so.
In September of 2009 I supervised an archaeological dig in the Mapungubwe National Park, Limpopo Province, South Africa. The third year class, Kerry's class, was headed out there and I was invited by their lecturer and my friend Luca, to join. Wits University's resident expert on the southern African Iron Age, Prof Tom Huffman, accompanied us and took us on a guided tour of the major sites within the Park - Schroda, K2 and Mapungubwe Hill. Having studied the culture in class, it was quite a thing to see the Hill with my own eyes. I walked that path leading to it, I climbed the rickety stairs to the top, and I beheld the world laid at my feet.
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| The view from the hill - taken by Kerry |
The world was far less green, and the ground cracked and baked hard. Temperatures averaged 40 degrees, sometimes soaring to 45 in the shade. But nothing could detract from the view and the significance of where we stood. Kings stood up there.
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| Tom holding court as the king would have - taken by me. |
Kes and I still talk about that dig. Tom is a blast - the typical academic eccentric - and the group, although small, was an interesting blend of personalities. That week in the sweltering heat was a strenuous one for my European blood, but it's one I wouldn't trade for all the tea in China! I stood on top of the world and stared down upon creation.
Until tomorrow!
Peace and Love!
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