Heritage Cases

The Sibudu Caves are located on the property described as Portion 10 of the Farm Sinembe No. 16902-FU, which is 4.3 hectares in extent, KwaZulu-Natal Province, and an application for Re-zoning from “Agricultural” to Conservation Area” in terms of the PDA and SPLUMA Planning Legislation is being compiled by Simon Vines Town and Regional Planners. The Sibudu Caves World Heritage Site was inhabited by humans over 150,000 years ago and they are the longest continuously-occupied caves in Southern Africa. The Sibudu Caves Trust have appointed Simon Vines Town and Regional Planners to try and protect this valuable archaeological site. The farm within which the Sibudu Caves property is situated is subject to the provisions of the Conservation of Agricultural Resources Act, (Act 43 of 1983). However, consent has been granted to subdivide the property in terms of the Subdivision of Agricultural Land Act, Act 70. Simon Vines Town and Regional Planners have, accordingly, obtained permission from the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, (DAFF), to subdivide a portion of 4,3 ha off the Farm Sinembe (118ha in total) and to seek a rezoning that is an appropriate land use in order to ensure the responsible management of this World Heritage resource in the future. Simon Vines Town and Regional Planners intend to rezone the subdivided portion from “Agriculture” to “Conservation Area”, which zoning can include an area declared as “Conservation” in terms of the KwaZulu-Natal Heritage Act, (Act 4 0f 2008). Enviroedge cc. has been commissioned to undertake the application process to Amafa for the proposed development. As part of this process, this Background Information Document has been prepared, together with the Town Planning Motivation document for submission to Amafa. The Sibudu Caves are located approximately 40km north of Durban, 5,7km north-west of Tongaat and 14,8km south-west of Shakaskraal, within Ward 4 of the KwaDukuza Local Municipality and the iLembe District Municipality. The Tongati River forms the ward boundary between Ward 4 to the north of the Tongati River, and Ward 12 to the south. The property is described as Portion 10 (Sibudu), of Erf 16902 of the Farm Sinembe, and is 4.31 ha in extent. The KwaZulu-Natal Heritage Council, (Amafa), is currently adding the property to the list of the provinces heritage landmarks. (National Monument Declaration). The Sibudu Caves site is a rock shelter located in a steep, forested cliff facing west-south-west which overlooks the Tongati River below. The Sibudu Caves are located along the R614 road, on the south-western side of the road, approximately 5,6km from the turn off from the R102 from Tongaat to Shakaskraal. The Sibudu Caves are accessed via the R614, (4,4km), a turn off to Ndondolo located at co-ordinates: 29°31'38.25"S; 31° 5'57.49"E, and a dirt road access road turn off point located at co-ordinates: 29°32'14.21"S; 31° 5'32.72"E, (1,3km), and the final section in a north-westerly direction at a distance of 1,6km along the road. The town of Stanger is located 28,5km north-east of the Sibudu Caves site. The main Tongati River runs from the west to the south of the site, with the Mona River located 0,5km south of the site. The Mona River links into the main Tongati River 0,7km to the south-east of the site and the Tongati River then flows on toward the Indian Ocean to the east of the site. The project area is characterised by sugar cane farming with large tracts of agricultural land, smaller agricultural holdings and the dense rural/semi-rural settlement of Ndwedwe to the west of the Tongati River. The project aim is to re-zone the Sibudu Caves site from Agriculture to Conservation, in order to protect the Sibudu Cave site. The KwaDukuza Planning Department has advised that the site is currently under the provisions of the KwaDukuza Land Use Management Scheme, and, that based on the intended preservation of the site, the most appropriate new zoning would be “Conservation Area”, as this land use accommodates the site “conservation”, which is defined as follows: “An area of notable environmental, scientific, architectural or historical interest or importance and whose character or appearance is desirable or necessary to preserve because they are discrete examples of a specific habitat, style or are irreplaceable”. The proposed site will be used for heritage site purposes, as this would best allow for the potential of the site to be realised, whilst preserving its integrity as a potential World Heritage site. The approximate centre point of the site can be found at co-ordinates: 29°31'21.95"S; 31° 5'9.54"E. A South African development company plans to build a low income subsidy housing estate on the sugar cane fields, with approximately 370 houses on about 32 ha within 300m of the centre of the Sibudu Caves site. There is concern that the Sibudu Caves site would be negatively impacted by development in such close proximity. The proposed subdivision and re-zoning would help to preserve the Sibudu Cave site. The Sibudu Caves shelter was formed by erosional downcutting of the Tongati River, which now lies at a depth of 10m below the shelter. The shelter floor is 55m long and about 18m in width. The shelter has a large collection of Middle Stone Age deposits that are well preserved organically and have been accurately dated utilising optically stimulated luminescence. The site was first occupied by modern humans at least 77 000 years ago and continued to serve as a favoured gathering place over the following 40 000 years. A record of prehistoric human occupation extending back at least 77 00 years and probably much longer, lies in the Sibudu Caves. These multi-layered, human made sediments are crammed with thousands of artefacts left behind by homo sapiens during our species formative years. The Sibudu shelter is one of South Africa’s most important archaeological sites, and its recent nomination for a World Heritage site status illustrates its universal value with heritage that belongs to all humanity. Evidence of some of the earliest examples of modern human technology has been found in the shelter, although the earliest known spears date back 400 000 years, the evidence found in the shelter includes the earliest bone arrow – 61 000 years old, the earliest needle – 61 000 years old, the earliest use of heat-treated mixed compound gluing – 72 000 years ago as well as the earliest example of the use of bedding – 77 000 years ago. The use of glues and bedding are of particular interest since the complexity of their creation and processing has been presented as evidence of the continuity between early human cognition and that of modern humans. The occupations at the Sibudu shelter are divided into pre-Still Bay, Still Bay (72 000-71 000 BP), HowiesonsPoort (before 61 000 BP), post Howiesons Poort (58 000 BP), late (47 700 BP) and final Middle Stone Age phases (38 600 BP). There were occupation gaps of approximately 10 000 years between the post-Howiesons Poort and the late Middle Stone Age stage, and the late and final Middle Stone Age periods. There was no Late Stone Age occupation of the shelter, although there was a 1 000 BP Iron Age occupation. Evidence suggests that these were dry periods and the shelter was occupied only during wet climatic conditions. In 2015, the South African government submitted a proposal to add the Sibudu Caves to the list of World Heritage Sites, and it has been placed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO list of tentative sites as a potential future “serial nomination”.