Heritage Cases

The proposed MBSA Clarkebury Road Upgrade Project is located on portions of communal land in the former Transkei region of the OR Tambo District Municipality, Eastern Cape Province. The large town of Mthatha is situated more or less 40km east of the project area and a number of small villages, notably Clarkebury and the Tembisa occur around the proposed upgrade route. The project entails the upgrade of road sections over approximately 20km which will include the upgrade of 2 bridges along the upgrade route. Three burrow pits and a large quarry of 5ha will be utilized for the road upgrade. Exigo Sustainability completed a Phase 1 Archaeological Impact Assessment (AIA) for the MBSA Clarkebury Road Upgrade project in September 2019 . The study identified a later Iron Age Farmer Period stone walled complex (Site EXIGO-MCRU-IA01) on Quluqu Hill at the site proposed for the quarry. It was indicated that the Quluqu Hill Iron Age site have the potential to inform on the spread of Iron Age communities in the interior of the Eastern Cape and it was crated as of medium heritage significance. The study primarily recommended that the site be conserved with a 20m conservation buffer and that an alternative site for the quarry be identified. However, it was noted that the site should be adequately documented by means of a Phase 2 Specialist Study should impact proof inevitable. It was indicated that the study should minimally include the mapping, documentation and possible sampling of the site in order to conserve the historical fabric of the heritage resource and necessary alteration and/or destruction permits should be obtained from the relevant Heritage Resources Authorities prior to site sampling and destruction. Since the quarry site in question cannot be excluded from development, application is made for a permit for the controlled surface collection and archaeological excavation of subsurface artefacts from middens at Site EXIGO-MCRU-IA01 on Quluqu Hill as recommended in the AIA Report