Heritage Cases

This application is to renew the Permit for Excavation at Wonderwerk Cave. We have carried out five seasons of excavation in 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019. Complete details of these excavations (methods, results, and staff) can be found in annual reports submitted to SAHRIS. As in the original application the goals continue to be to augment the material from earlier excavations with data from excavations with high precision recording of spatial data and complete recovery. Toward that end we have developed an implemented protocols for recording 3D spatial coordinates of all artifacts, faunal remains, and geological samples using a total station with reference to a 0.25 m. sq. grid system that overlays the 1-yard square grid used in earlier excavations. All sediments are processed using a Flote-Tech flotation machine which provides for sieving through a fine mesh and recovery of all materials including botanicals. All materials are curated at the McGregor Museum Kimberley. Our excavation follows the principles of excavating with the outmost care; minimizing the area excavated to limit impact on the site; developing excavation strategies that increase the stability of the site for long-term preservation. The complete excavation plan consists of five operations designed to address significant research questions (see map attachment showing grid and operations).. Operation 1: This operation focuses on excavation of a small remnant of St. 12 (the earliest archaeological stratum) not excavated by Beaumont in the northeast corner of his Excavation 1. Excavation in this area is largely complete. Operation 2: The goal of this operation is to create an exposure of the deposits found at the top of the north profile of Beaumont’s Excavation 1. The goal of this exposure is to understand the organization of human activity towards the middle of the Acheulean sequence. Excavation in this operation is approximately 50% complete. Operation 3: The goal of this operation is to explore the later part of the Acheulean sequence exposed in Beaumont’s Excavation 1. Excavation along the southern profile is producing a statigraphic sequence through these deposits in an area that is accessible to excavation. At the same time an area of 3.5 x 2 meters has been opened in an area to the south of the profile designated as Operation 3 Trench. Excavation here has encountered unexpectedly thick deposits of LSA material, some of which shows evidence of historic disturbance. The goal of this excavation is to explore the interface of the LSA and ESA deposits and then to produce a broad exposure of deposits dating to the end of the ESA. The outcome of this excavation will be a stepped profile that will be a sustainable configuration that will replace the unstable profile left by the Beaumont excavation. Operation 4: This operation focuses on Beaumont’s Excavation 2 to the south of Excavation 1. Excavations to date have taken advantage of remnants of the Earlier Stone Age deposits that were left easily accessible. The goal here is to understand the relationship between Excavation 1 and Excavation 2. We also plan a limited excavation in the MSA deposits preserved in Excavation 2 to the west of the areas we have worked on to date. Operation 5: This is a limited high precision excavation of the eastern profile of the Thackerays’ excavation. The goal is to retrieve samples for muti-proxy climate reconstruction and to gain an improved understanding of site formation processes and site function during the Later Stone Age. The results of excavation to date are fully published in Rhodes et al. 2022. The area chosen for excavation has not yet reached the base of the LSA deposits and there is also a need to slightly increase the excavation area to produce a more robust sample of lithic and faunal remains. Funding for excavation at Wonderwerk Cave is provided by the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and PAST.