Thulamela, “the place of birth”. Dry stone ruins in South Africa, 13th to 17th century.

This 9 hectare archaeological site is located in the north of Kruger National Park, overlooking the Luvuvhu River, 17 km from its confluence with the Limpopo River, close to the borders of Zimbabwe and Mozambique, on the southern limits of the Zimbabwe Culture Complex. The main site of interest is a sizeable stone hilltop enclosure where two royal graves where found, but there is further stone walling and evidence of settlement in the areas adjacent to this hill as well, where commoners would have lived. The settlement may have been home to a community of up to 3000 people at its peak. Farmers, cattle herders, artisans and traders. The people of Thulamela, with cultural links to Great Zimbabwe, are believed to have been ancestral to the Makahane subgroup of the Venda, currently occupying the region. 

The site was occupied by the 13th century, though it is not certain if stone walls were already being erected in this period, which become clearly attested from the 14th century onwards. Between the 14th and the 17th century, evidence for trade with East African Coast appears in the form of glass beads, cowrie shells and Chinese porcelain, traded for with ivory and gold. Iron, copper and gold were all worked at the site. Other finds include spinning whorls used in cotton production, sewing needles, an iron assegai, harpoons, iron hoes and a double iron gong. Changes in local ceramics assemblages in this later phase may be indicative of a change in the political and economic climate in the wake of the collapse of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe and the rise to prominence of Khami. 

The site only came to the attention of the scholarly community quite late, in 1983, and was excavated and restored between 1993 and 1996. The most prominent finds were the two royal graves of a man and woman, which were carefully excavated with permission from the local community, and respectfully reburied after the studies were concluded. The woman was called “Queen Losha”, because she was discovered lying on her side with her palms placed together under her left temple, the way Venda women traditionally greet men. This greeting and sign of respect is called "losha”. She was found with a gold bracelet and over 300 gold beads. The man was called "King Ingwe”, the “Leopard King”, on account of the leopard observing the archaeologist on the day of the excavation. He was found with a double gong, pieces of copper and gold foil, gold beads, gold and iron bracelets fragments of a hyena jawbone, lion teeth and c. 1000 ostrich eggshell beads. 

The reasons for the abandonment of Thulamela in the mid-17th century are not yet clear.