THABA BOSIU

also spelled Thaba Bosigo site and sandstone plateau (elevation 5,919 feet ) in the foothills of the southern African state of Lesotho. It is located about 15 miles (24 km) east of Maseru, capital of Lesotho. Forming a natural fortress nearly 400 feet (120 m) above the surrounding plain, the plateau was used by the 19th-century chief and founder of the Sotho nation, Mshweshwe, as his headquarters and to protect his people from other African, British, or Boer intrusions. Only in times of real danger did the Sotho nation gather atop the approximately 0.75 square mile (2 square km) area of Thaba Bosiu. Today it is uninhabited, but remains of the villages and graves of Sotho chiefs are still there.