Heritage Cases

Now listed World Heritage Site and centre of a National Park, Mapungubwe was once the capital of a state-based society in southern Africa. The Iron Age archaeological site of Mapungubwe lies, at the confluence of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers in South Africa (S 22° 13` 19,37”, E 29° 20` 50,17”). Today, the area is very hot and dry, but regional environmental records suggest that past rainfall conditions were significantly different. The rise and demise of Mapungubwe has long been linked to climate changes: increased rainfall would have supported intensive agro-pastoral activities and demographic growth, later declining due to the onset of drier conditions. Accordingly, during the Little Ice Age (1300–1850 AD), drier and cooler climate resulted in environmental deterioration (i.e. flooding and/or drought), ultimately leading to abandonment of Mapungubwe. Several studies have shown that, within major climatic trends worldwide, complex landscapes often experience different conditions at local scale. The conceptual framework and methodologies of the proposed field research is designed to employ innovative laboratory techniques to investigate the, multifaceted, cultural landscape that embraces spatial and temporal characteristics. Building on extant research to retrieve relevant cultural and palaeo-environmental data. The data collection method will conduct geoarchaeological test pit surveys to retrieve soil/landscape conditions through time and how the current populations survive in conditions highly prone to drought. To do so, the proposed study will conduct new geoarchaeological test pit surveys from Samaria; gully streams between Mapungubwe and Leokwe, areas between K2 and Mapungubwe. Open site excavations can be hazardous. For the purpose of this study, the geoarchaeological test pits surveys will be relatively small (50 x 50 cm squares), refilled after doing soil description and sediment retrieval. Furthermore, the test pit surveys are not conducted directly on archaeological sites causing damage (for a detailed overview see enclosed proposal).