Heritage Cases

The extent of the site complex and the number of engravings make Boomplaats the most significant archaeological site of its kind in South Africa. The site and its visually striking engravings are in an excellent state of preservation and provide an invaluable resource for archaeological research into the world of precolonial farming communities in South Africa. The Boomplaats Rock Engraving Site Complex contains the most significant collection of rock engravings made by pre-colonial Later Iron Age farming communities in South Africa, and serves as an invaluable historic record of a deep-rooted cultural identity associated with the landscape. This identity survives to the present day where local descendants of the Later Iron Age farmers identify with the site. The site also has significant potential to be developed for tourism and to serve as a place where this rich cultural heritage can be dispersed to visitors. Boomplaats was the first site of its kind to be recorded more than a century ago, and has been the at the centre of scientific research for this type of archaeological site ever since, greatly contributing towards our understanding of Later Iron Age farmer communities’ social organisation, and also served to corroborate interpretations of researchers regarding Later Iron Age settlement layout and function, serving as a window into the world of the BaKoni. These socio-cultural, historic and scientific research values, along with the stunning aesthetic value of the engravings, coupled to their fine state of preservation, bestow on Boomplaats a site significance of national importance.