Materials excavated from the kwaBulawayo archaeological site and associated items

[Source - Chloe Rushovich for FHYA, 2021, using material provided by the KwaZulu-Natal Museum: kwaBulawayo is situated on a hill just north of the road P230 between Eshowe and Empangeni about 43 kilometres from Eshowe. The site served as Shaka's capital. In the historical record, the site is first mentioned as Gibbe-Clackee (Gibixhegu) by Isaacs who arrived in Natal in 1825 with the first British trading port of Port Alfred. He later noted the name change as Umboolalio (kwaBulawayo) in his diary in July 1826. Descriptions of the site are also found in writings of Fynn (1969) and in the James Stuart Archives translated by Webb and Wright (1976; 1979; 1982; 1986). However, none of the records describe the extent of the site in any detail. Today, the land has been extensively ploughed from farming. The FHYA selection from material relating to and excavated the kwaBulawayo archaeological site consists of material excavated by Oliver Davies which was accessioned in 1950, material excavated by Gavin Whitelaw between 1992 and 1995, and material excavated by Len van Schalkwyk in 1995, as well as associated institutional material, and additional published and unpublished material, maps, field reports, and business proposals written about kwaBulawayo and the excavations surrounding it.]