Melville Koppies, Nature reserve in Johannesburg, South Africa

Melville Koppies is a nature reserve in Johannesburg with rocky ridges and indigenous plants spread across more than 150 hectares at an elevation of 1,719 meters. The landscape includes trails through different sections that showcase various plant communities and natural features of the highveld.

People living here during the Iron Age left traces between 1,060 and 1,580 AD, including livestock enclosures and iron smelting furnaces. Long before this period, around 500,000 years ago, hunter-gatherer groups established temporary camps at this location.

The name comes from Afrikaans: a koppie is a small hill, and the reserve takes its name from the rocky ridges that rise above the surrounding suburbs. Iron Age artefacts, including slag and furnace remains, still lie on the surface, and guided walks point them out. The site is a Johannesburg City Heritage Site, and the neighbouring Johannesburg Botanical Garden adjoins it.

The central section requires joining guided tours, while the eastern and western areas can be visited daily without advance booking. It is wise to wear sturdy shoes and bring plenty of water, as the trails cross rocky terrain and open hillsides.

The Iron Age furnace Revil Mason excavated in 1963 was a bowl or sunken type, and charcoal from different levels dates its use to between 1060 and 1580 AD. A second, later furnace found on the northern slopes belongs to the 18th or 19th century, showing iron smelting resumed there long after the first period.