Dr Forssman has long been fascinated by the region's rich archaeological heritage. "Most people visit South Africa's Kruger National Park for wildlife safaris," he said. "I go to its northern Pafuri region to study an archaeological site called Thulamela – a precolonial kingdom between the 13th and 17th centuries."
Rediscovered in 1983 by a local ranger, Thulamela sits on a hill overlooking the floodplains of the Luvuvhu River and the surrounding bushveld. Spanning approximately nine hectares, the site features dry-packed stone walls and is widely regarded as one of the most dramatic archaeological locations in the park.
"During my first visit in 2022, I was struck by the site's beauty," he said. "It's dotted with baobabs and fever trees – a truly spectacular setting."
In a recent visit to the site with his postgraduate students, Dr Forssman invited them to envision the kingdom at its peak. "Around 1 000 members of a ruling elite would have been living in a stone fortress on the hill, while another 2 000 people lived in smaller settlements below," he explained.
One of the most significant discoveries at the site was made during the first major excavations in 1996. "I showed my students the final resting places of what some believe to have been a king and queen who lived in the stone citadel. Their graves, filled with gold beads, necklaces, bangles and other jewellery, were found beneath hut floors," he said. A double iron gong – likely symbolic of royalty – was discovered nearby.
Other artefacts uncovered include Chinese porcelain, glass beads, textiles, ivory bracelets and seashells associated with East African trade. These items point to Thulamela's place in a vast Indian Ocean trade network. "These finds signal that Thulamela was part of a greater Indian Ocean trade network and that its people produced goods to trade through contacts with North and East Africa, the Middle East, India and China," said Dr Forssman.
He noted that the evidence challenges colonial narratives about the discovery of gold in South Africa. "At school, I learned a colonial version of history which claimed that gold was first discovered in South Africa in the 1880s. We know, however, that African communities were trading in gold soon after 1000 AD. We know this from evidence from settlements such as Thulamela."
Thulamela is on a hill overlooking the floodplains of the Luvuvhu River and the bushveld, dotted with baobabs and fever treesCredit: Ramy Fouda/Estelle Geneux
Powerful Regional Influences
Dr Forssman explained that Thulamela must be viewed as part of a broader historical system. "Strong farming societies and valuable trade routes with a distinct political economy thrived into the first decades of the 19th century," he said. "States emerging at Mapungubwe, Great Zimbabwe and Thulamela influenced the northern interior of what is now South Africa – and helped shape the rise of the Venda, Pedi and Zulu kingdoms."
He emphasised the need to look beyond Thulamela as a standalone site. "I cannot look at Thulamela in isolation, as merely another incredible Southern African archaeological site," he said. "I look for threads that elaborate on how it and sites nearby – such as Gwalala Hill near the confluence of the Limpopo and Luvuvhu Rivers – fitted into the region's past, connecting to multiple places, kingdoms and dynasties as part of major international trade networks."
His research focuses on the nature of early trade and the goods exchanged. Together with his students, Dr Forssman has already surveyed the northern part of the Kruger National Park – both on foot and using satellite imagery – in search of archaeological sites. "We will continue with the legwork, but also use drones supported by a South African National Biodiversity Institute grant," he said.
Thulamela lies about 190 km east of Mapungubwe National Park, where Dr Forssman has spent over 16 years studying forager technologies, indigenous knowledge systems and innovation. His work in this area began during his PhD at the University of Oxford and continues under the Hunter-Gatherer Archaeological Research Project.
"I believe archaeologists tend to focus too much on big centres and urban landscapes of development, thereby neglecting the common folk and subsistence farmers who prop up systems of elite power around royal settlements," he said.
Through his work, Dr Forssman hopes to help create a more inclusive account of the region's history. "I want to help create a more inclusive history about the influence of foragers and their craftmanship over the past 2 000 years on the larger market economy of the precolonial African kingdoms that once thrived in the middle Limpopo valley of South Africa."
This article is based on Dr Forssman’s feature in Nature.com: https://www.nature.com/articles/d44148-025-00089-2
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