Heritage Cases

The permit application pertains the Late Iron Age site on Portion 23 of Kameel Zyn Kraal 547. A phase 1 HIA (Antonites 2020; Case ID 15327) identified fourteen clusters of stone walls. In all cases, the walls were roughly packed and uncoursed. No material culture on the surface were identified during this assessment. While the stone walls formed discontinuous clusters, together, they form a stone wall complex which likely represent a single community. Because the boundaries between the sites recorded in the HIA are largely arbitrary delimitations, the excavation permit is requested to apply to the entire stone walled complex on Kameel Zyn Kraal 547 JR. The excavations will however focus on the walled clusters that will be impacted by the proposed development. These were identified as UP-KZK-2528-01 and UP-KZK-2528-03 during the initial HIA. The LIA is well represented in project area. From around 1600, oral traditions of Nguni-speaking Ndebele groups record their settlement in the astern parts of the Pretoria-region. Heritage reports conducted on some the stone walled sites east of Pretoria have mostly linked these sites of the Ndebele-speaking people who inhabited the area from the late 1600s to the mid-1800s. Oral histories locate Kameel Zyn Kraal within the pre-colonial territory of the Manala Ndebele (Van Vuuren 2006). The LIA sites on Kameel Zyn Kraal 537 JR therefore forms part of a rich Late Iron Age cultural landscape. Although stone walled sites are relatively ubiquitous regionally, they are under immense pressure from urban sprawl. The significance of individual sites should be regarded in the larger context of a historical landscape under threat. As a result, mitigation measures were recommended by the Phase 1 Heritage Practitioner (Antonites 2020) before any future construction activities can take place. These measures are mapping, recording and rescue excavations to obtain sample of material culture from the sites. These measures were accepted by Delegation of Authority in their interim comments (Case ID 15327).