UNEARTHING HISTORIES: Hiss of brush, ring of trowel: the ancestors speak at Gwalala Hill
In the Pafuri region of the Limpopo Valley, archeologists have painstakingly uncovered pottery sherds, glass beads and other artefacts in what turns out was a major centre of trade.
In the Pafuri region of the Limpopo Valley, archaeologists have unearthed pottery sherds, glass beads and other artefacts at Gwalala Hill, a major centre of trade dating back six centuries. This site, situated near the confluence of the Limpopo and Luvuvhu rivers in the Makuleke Contractual Park, was previously inhabited by the Makuleke community, whose ancestral land was returned to them in 1998.
Gwalala Hill, a 200m-by-70m site with baobab trees surrounding it, was identified in 2022 and excavations began in 2025. Despite the limited time spent on the excavation, the team uncovered thousands of glass beads, metal slag, ceramics, spindle whorls, faunal remains and evidence of settlement patterns from 800 to 600 years ago. Chemical analyses suggest that the glass beads were primarily produced in Southeast Asia and traded along East African trade networks to reach the Limpopo Valley.
The site's location along the rivers allowed Gwalala Hill to operate within a "strategic corridor of exchange." The combination of technologies, including ground-penetrating radar and aerial surveys, helped the team compile a comprehensive data set, revealing evidence of large middens, preserved hut floors, grain bin foundations and agricultural terracing.
This suggests the existence of a society capable of generating wealth through production and trade, with access to traded items such as glass beads serving as a source of power and status.
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