The Gold Museum in Cape Town

This is an extract from the book Travel tales from Exotic Places like Salford

The history of the world has been hugely influenced by the presence of gold in Africa; gold was behind the rise of Egypt in the time of the pharaohs, it meant that the Chinese were trading with East African countries 1,000 years ago, and it almost certainly led to the start of the slave trade.

The history of gold and the outstanding artistry that’s created many stunning pieces are both exhibited at the Gold of Africa Museum at 96 Strand Street in Cape Town. The museum is located in the Martin Melck House.

Having paid the entrance fee the visitor should head up the stairs and turn to the right. Here in this one room the history of gold is encapsulated via an astounding timeline throughout the ages.

The Egyptian pharaohs believed that their claim for immortality would be enhanced by the radiance of their gold jewellery hence the preponderance of the metal in their tombs. It’s amazing to realize that although Tutankhamen was only a minor pharaoh his 2-metre long coffin was made of solid gold and his head was enveloped in a gold portrait mask. There were many other gold objects in that tomb including a gold throne. The visitor can only wonder at the treasures that must have been buried with an important pharaoh such as Ramesses II.

The first pure gold coin was produced during the reign of Croesus of Lydia (561 – 546 BC) – he was said to have sent 3,400 kg of gold to decorate the temple at Delphi. Kush, the ancient land between the Nile and The Red Sea, was, between 800-700BC, one of the richest countries in the known world and produced 1,600,000 kg of pure gold. Kush even invaded neighbouring Egypt around 700BC and seized control of Thebes.

Around 600AD the Arabs set up Cairo and soon started minting coins called ‘dinars’ made from West African  gold which were eventually accepted as currency from Spain to Asia.

The ancient Zimbabwe culture flourished around 1000AD across what is now Botswana, Zimbabwe, southern Mozambique and the northern parts of South Africa. Gold was behind its rise to power but there’s a mystery behind the source of the gold. It’s known that gold was used and worked at Mapungubwe and also at Thula Mela, in what is now Kruger National Park, but evidence of mining has only been found at the World Heritage Site of Great Zimbabwe itself.

In 1324, Mansa Musa the ruler of Mali trekked across the Sahara on his pilgrimage to Mecca. He was accompanied by over 200 camels and more than 1000 servants. Mansa Musa took so much gold to pay for the journey, to give as alms, and to present as gifts that the price of gold in Cairo plummeted and didn’t recover for 12 years. Not surprisingly this single epic journey raised the profile of Mali in the eyes of Western Europeans and the Arab World and led to Mansa Musa’s image appearing on a map of the known world in 1375; he was depicted holding a nugget of gold.

This is an extract from the book Travel tales from Exotic Places like Salford