Heritage Cases

An assessment of old topographical maps indicated that no graves were depicted on the 1963 and 1975 maps as the area was mostly covered in vegetation or used for agriculture with the Goudmyn property to the east. The 1997 map indicates a cleared area with some streams heading through the area and again the infrastructure to the east (First, Second and Third Edition 2430CA 1:50 000 Topographic sheet). Even though no burial grounds are depicted on these topographical maps, they might have been missed during the initial survey. Furthermore, it should also be noted that not all informal burial grounds were recorded and documented as part of property surveys. The possible location of the burial is located at the following location: • The Portion 0 of the farm Goudmyn 337 KT at GPS Coordinates S -24.742255⁰ E 30.184862, Pelaneng, in the Sekhukhune District Municipality in the Limpopo Province. The following methodology will be followed during the GPR survey. The GPR survey aims to detect any anomalies consistent with the burial in the surrounding soil matrix. 1) The feature will be documented and together with the surrounding area, will then be cleared of any vegetation that might obstruct the use of the GPR equipment. 2) The stone and soil mounds marking the features will then be levelled by hand. Continuous documentation will ensure that it can be reconstructed after the GPR survey. 3) A survey grid will be laid out over the area of approximately 20m x 20m (this may increase once the on-site conditions are determined) to be scanned. The area will be as large as possible. During the GPR survey, the area indicated by the family will be investigated. 4) Radargrams will be collected every 25cm on both the X-of the grid. If needed, the Y-axis will also be surveyed. 5) The data will be processed to see if any anomalies consistent with the presence of a grave are present. Additional to the vertical radargrams, the post-processing software will also produce horizontal slices every 5cm -10cm. The following methodology will be followed during the test excavations. This method aims to remove enough of the topsoil until a clear display of the soil stratigraphy beneath is revealed. 1) As mentioned above, the area will be documented, and the surface cleared of all debris and photographed. All observations regarding construction, materials and characteristics of the surface features (if any) are documented. 2) The topsoil is then carefully removed by hand using 1mx1m test pits. The GPR grid will be used for the test excavations. Observations will be made of the changing soil matrix and any patterns in stratigraphy indicating a grave pit. 3) Any archaeological features are noted and photographed. The presence of a burial pit can normally be ascertained by differences in the soil matrix. This would include a change in soil colour and/or texture due to prior disturbance if a pit or other alteration in the stratigraphy took place. 4) The area will not be fully excavated and will be backfilled afterwards irrespective of the outcome of the investigation. Once the GPR survey and test excavations have been completed, the area will be restored to its previous condition and the findings will be reported.