Heritage Cases

The Shongweni North and South Caves are located within 50 meters of each other. They have been previously excavated in the 1970s and 1980s (Davies 1975). The sites have yielded evidence of Iron Age, Holocene Later Stone Age and Pleistocene Later Stone Age activities. The Pleistocene deposits of the sites contain an early Later Stone Age occupation. This period is currently badly understood and only informally characterised (Lombard et al. 2012). As such further investigation of these materials provide an important opportunity to increase our knowledge of South African populations during the last Ice Age. In addition, on a recent visit, we observed that the trenches of the previous work appear to be collapsing, and we aim to consolidate them, to better preserve these important archaeological sites for the future. In order to gain a better understanding of the MIS 2 occupation of the Mlazi Valley, we want to increase the lithic and the fauna samples. We will excavate a small area ~1m2 to produce a profile for geoarchaeological excavations in both caves. We will excavate according to the natural stratigraphy, subdividing thick units in artificial spits to increase resolution. We will record all finds >2cm using a robotic total station. We will sieve all the sediments over nested 5mm, 2mm and 1mm sieves to recover small items such as beads and microfauna. We use OSL and radiocarbon dating to increase understanding of the chronology of the sites. We will conduct geoarchaeological investigations on the sediments, including granulometry, Loss on Ignition and XRF to determine the sedimentary processes and the extent of post-depositional disturbance of the sequence. We will conduct micromorphological analysis to determine whether anthropogenic features such as hearths, ash layers, bedding, etc. can be attested. Finally, we aim to conduct phytolith and stable isotope analysis of the sediments to determine the changing environmental conditions during the Last Ice Age. We will collaborate with the following experts Dr. Carolyn Thorp (KwaZulu-Natal Museum): Holocene LSA and Iron Age artefacts; Dr. Andy Carr (University of Leicester): OSL dating and stable isotope analysis; I Sifogeorgakis (Leiden University): Micromorphological analsysis; Dr. I. Esteban, Dr. M. Murunigi (Wits university): Phytolith analysis.