Bakoni Ruins

Bakoni Ruins

Introduction

The Bakoni Ruins is an interesting site. Its origin is largely disputed between psuedoarchaeologists and archaeologists, because of this, the dating of the site ranges between 25,000 to 250,000 years old. Located in the province of Mpumalanga, South Africa, which is now referred to as eNtokozweni. The Bakoni Ruins are constructed stonewalls located in mostly grassy pasture areas (Delius et al. 2014). These walls consist of maze-like ruins that form circular enclosures as well as linear pathways. “Among the maze of stonewalling there are three main elements visible today: the homesteads, the terraced fields and the road networks” (Delius et al. 2014). These stonewalls are spread all throughout the province. To present day, this site has yet to be excavated and has earned the title as South Africa’s “Lost City” for its mysterious past. What little we do know about the site comes from interpretations of the site itself as well as the oral histories and written documents that have existed for thousands of years. While the oral histories and written documents give us more knowledge of the site, it is very limited.