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‘The Battle of Isandlwana’

22 January 1879 marks the momentous encounter between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom, known as ‘The Battle of Isandlwana’. In our collection, we have a bloodstained leather pouch bag that was picked up after the battle.

'The ancient city of Mapungubwe'

On 31 December 1932 the ancient city of Mapungubwe was discovered when a local informant by the name of Mowena, led E.S.J. van Graan (farmer and prospector), his son and three others, to Greefswald farm on Mapungubwe Hill.  On the hill they noticed stone walls and upon closer inspection, they discovered gold and iron artefacts, pottery and glass beads.
This Iron Age archaeological site is located in the Limpopo Province on the border between South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana. Around one thousand years ago, Mapungubwe appears to have been the centre of the largest known kingdom in the African sub-continent. The civilization thrived as a sophisticated trading centre from around 1200 to 1300 AD, trading gold and ivory with China, India and Egypt. laborum: