Naletale (orNalatale) are ruins located about 25 kilometres east of ShanganiinMatabeleland South, Zimbabwe and east of the Danangombe ruins.[1]
The ruins are attributed to the Kalanga Torwa State and are thought to date from the seventeenth century, and were occupied through the eighteenth to nineteenth centuries during Rozvi rule.[2] The ruins are the remains of the capital of the Butua kingdom's Torwa dynasty. In 1960, it was declared a national monument.[3]
In the 1800s, Europeans looking for gold and treasures desecrated the site. but restoration efforts ceased in the 1980s due to a lack of funding. In 2012, it was discovered the foundations and walls faced serious risk of collapsing. Some economic and political problems in Zimbabwe significantly limited conservation efforts. Action was taken to preserve the site, however these efforts ceased in 1980 due to a lack of funding.[3]
Six decorations have been recorded on this drystone walled site, including chevrons, herringbone, cord, checkers and the use of alternating colored stone inserts.[4]
19°52′52″S 29°31′50″E / 19.88111°S 29.53056°E / -19.88111; 29.53056