Masorini Archeological Site at the feet of the Vudogwa Mountain ( 439m) To call it a mountain is a bit exaggerated, but never mind
This site is situated some 11km from the Phalaborwa Gate, on the road to Letaba. As the letters PI-NE appear on the trigonometric beacon, it was incorrectly believed to be another name for Masorini (Piene).
The ancestors of the Baphalaborwa stayed here. They made a living from the melting of iron. The smelters lived on the lower terrace at Masorini and the forgers in the higher terrace, because they had a higher standing in society. Today Masorini is a restored village with stonewalls, grinding stones, potsherds and the remains of foundries, including a smelting furnace, which date back to the 19th century.
There are also some implements dating back to the Stone Age. This village offers an insight into the economy and technology employed by the hunter-gathers, and later Iron Age people. The northeastern Sotho tribe that inhabited this village were known as the ba-Phalaborwa.
From the Masorini hilltop, there is a splendid view of Shikumbu Hill where the Chieftain lived. In the shock waves following the rise of the Zulu kingdom early in the 19thCentury, Masorini ended as a settlement.
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The guide explains how the melting furnaces used to work with the floor sloping down towards the centre so all the ore would collect there. Once it cooled, it would be carried up the hill to be forged into tools like hoes and spearheads.
Women were not allowed in the smelting area for fear that they might jinx the process; the job of turning rock into iron, as if by magic, was sacred and only entrusted to men. Another reason, the guide explains, is that women might marry into another tribe and take the secret of how to smelt iron with them - something that would have put a dent into their trade with the Portuguese and Venda to the North.
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The village included huts for some smelters and workers and for the chief and his two wives, but the rest of the people lived on the plain not far away. Living huts have been reconstructed on the original floors using buffalo dung mixed with clay and their midget-sized doors constitute a clever trick. You'd have to bow your head to enter and if you were a stranger they could chop off your head. It's a sobering thought
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James, the guide at the place where the elders got together to discuss and drink marula beer
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A Common Giant Plated Lizzard enjoying the sun
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Better than nothing 
They looked soooo nice 
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