Heritage Cases

An archaeological monitoring program saw the destruction of the designated site low significance archaeological site, during which further archaeological finds just outside of the footprint of HMK1, but still in the construction footprint, were uncovered listed as HMK1a.  The disturbed areas also contained a large number of lithics with the calcrete quarry having more ESA material such as general LCT with the minimal number flaking from river pebbles, and some half completed LCTs;  The materials collected from sand heaps on the edge and in the sand quarry, are associated with the MSA with a few smaller lithics possibly LSA. Lithics collected includes various cores and facetted blades. Some of the blades show retouch and wear marks. Evaluation of the calcrete and sand quarries indicate two stratigraphic units present within the substrate at Kipling Farm, Kalahari Sands (Kalahari Group; termed Horizon A) overlying a calcrete horizon (Horizon B). The exposed pebble layer in the sand quarry is consistent with the MSA finds. It is most likely that the buried artefacts were once at the surface and thus part of the original surface scatters, but due to natural processes they have migrated downwards through the loose unconsolidated sediments. This is a common phenomenon in many archaeological sites (Fourie et al. 2018). The frequency of lithic finds in the sand quarry and possible primary buried context within the subsurface pebble matrix makes for the collection and documentation of lithics in a primary context that has not previously been investigated in the larger Hotazel area. This deposit and context will be disturbed by the construction activity and it is thus recommended that the site further be investigated and documented.