Now if you go into Botswana, you will find some very interesting landmark features. One of these is a very long, they say natural we say man-made, stone wall that stretches for miles from Botswana's eastern border. It is wedged in between Zimbabwe in the north and South Africa in the south. Today you won`t find much more on these lands other than privately owned game reserves and some farms. This making ANY archeological work near impossible. Land is private and trespassers will be removed or otherwise shot at.
The little fringe of land we have found to be of great interest is called the Tuli Block, and here you will find Solomons Wall by the Motloutse River (southwestern corner of Tuli block). And in these areas, there are many rock paintings, near Tswapong and Lepokole Hills, that holds San history. This Tuli block reaches from the Shashe and Limpopo River meet, and all the way down to the Notwane River not far from Olifants Drift.
These areas are called hardveld, because they are very thirsty and rocky, not to much rain has been seen in these areas in a long time. That however will change. As soon as the right people inhabit it, the rains will come back. And it is just that Red Sand in this area, that is such an unmistakable and unforgettable trait. Makes one think of why the Sea we believe is not far from here, now dried up, would be referred to as the Red Sea. Red from the sand, certainly, and along its banks it would have many seaports. For now, it is a land of dried-up desert, barely suitable for livestock.
Now Bechuanaland, we know today as Botswana, was declared a protectorate by Britain in 1885. The lands therefore came to belong to BSAC, British South Africa Company. A deep and dark rabbit hole if you look into it, but to sum it up your average colonial system put in place to rule. Without holding any man accountable, companies are very hard to pin down. You can argue that the land was stolen indeed, but from whom? The answer to that question gets blurry quickly. Many people stand ready to claim land rights, will it go to the right people? Of course not. Now this is another topic, but some developments did come from the British. But who indeed benefited from this? Well, certainly not the locals. The mining magnate Cecil John Rhodes (1853-1902) had intended to build his railway (Cape to Cairo) through these parts, but the terrain was unforgiving. So BSAC built a Fort at Tuli (Fort Tuli) to protect land and cattle. There was said to be gold in them hills, but it never manifested itself and the areas were sold to private commercial farmers over time. In whose hands the land remains to this day.
The area now makes its living from tourism, and it works like that with its beautiful array of natural rock formations, and signs of old greatness, it is surely something that draws people to sites like these. We think it is these callings of old that indeed draw people. Otherwise, what would be the reason to travel to such desolate places? For they are indeed desolate. Dusty and barren. However, like the Desert of Egypt, this land holds secrets in its red soil.
Now this whole strip, which contains large pieces of Solomons wall, has been converted into private game reserves and farms, for exclusive holidays. So for the general public, you can only access the Tuli block through these safari ventures. And also ONLY restricted to the main road that runs the entire length of the block. Now some of these private areas cover up to 300,000ha and is the largest PRIVATELY owned game conservation in all of southern Africa. Yes you can read that again for those who know just how much land that is. Now questions are bound to arise from this fact. Why is this? Its all private, so its very hard too get any kind of access to do some excavations in that area.
Now the Solomons Wall itself is described as Basalt cliffs, 30 meters high, which is theorised to have formed a natural dam across the Motloutse River. The first Alluvial Diamonds have been found not too far up this River, which tells about the riches and specialness of The Promised Land.
And not far from Tuli Block is Mapungubwe on the southern side of the Limpopo River, an interesting place. Especially from the artefacts found in the area. If you read on Wikipedia or contemporary history on Mapungubwe you will find a lot of theories, but they are all rather derogatory and not very edifying. No serious suggestion of how these would have been built and the architecture behind them, not too mention of a possible successful and dominating ancient African civilisation, no this a simple stone wall residency. Is it
The site is now a World Heritage site and a South African National Heritage site, and there is controversy and rightly so, about its name and meaning. Word of mouth says it means Hill or place of jackals, but more vernacular ethnicities from Pedis, Sothos, Tsongas, Vendas and Kalangas, would rather call it Place of Wisdom. And indeed it is not unfounded to call the place just that. Because such structures are indeed in Southern Africa and have been built by Black people from the 12 Tribes of Ancient Israel. This, is something almost illegal to imply in archeological circuits today, that black people ever constructed anything of such grandeur. But they sure did. And they were agricultural wonders, that blended in the already natural features of the land.
There have been found figures like this one, made out of the purest of gold. So much for primitive people right? To make this figure, covered in thin sheets of pure gold, is not a simple task. The statue is small granted, small enough to fit inside your hand. But to make this makes us believe there were strong civilisations around in Africa at that time and before. And they were much stronger than what is being put forth as the order of Mapungubwe or a mere trading-centre on a hilltop.
Now also in the Tuli area, are the Tswapong and Lepokole hills, to the southwest. Here you will find gorges and serious features of nature, carved by rivers and springs, it shows the area had lots of water in the past. Now academics will say the San were active in the area, but stone tools and ancient pottery, like of the BaVendas, are pieces of evidence of an earlier occupation.
