A discovery of several pottery shards and shells dating to the 13th century AD were found during the upgrade of the N2-Ballito interchange recently.
Archaeologist Gavin Anderson of Umlando Archaeological Tourism and Resource Management was called in when workers found pot shards and fossilised coal on the site which was previously identified as being rich in historical findings. This was part of the environmental management plan set up by Umlando.
“The entire North Coast is noted for historical findings as large farming communities occupied the area,” said Chelina Bodhie, the environmental officer on site. Bodhie said the particular area where the findings were discovered formed part of an old kraal.
When independent environmental compliance officer, Harold Thornhill, noted various shards while clearing the sand, he noted a shell midden.
Anderson explains that a shell midden is a heap of shells stacked or dumped in one particular area and reflects some of the marine food people ate.
Anderson and his wife, Louise, have recorded many sites near the Ballito interchange and along the freeway that have evidence of Iron Age shell middens over the past 1 700 years.
The area was cordoned off because human remains, from the Late Iron Age, often occur underneath or near shell middens. Anderson said if the material dates to the Late Iron Age, then there was a possibility of human remains occurring on the site.
One bird bone, a fragment of possible hippo bone, brown mussels and a few oyster shells and limpets were found. But no human remains, Anderson confirmed.
The site, which was not significant enough to warrant an excavation, was however sampled over the duration of a day. Construction of the N2-Ballito interchange has since resumed.
Anderson, who has extensively surveyed the area since the early 1980s, said the sites that are located in the area date to the Early and Late Iron Ages. The site was not previously properly assessed due to the vegetation surrounding the area. Only a fraction of the site was intact before the road started, as the area was largely used as a modern rubbish dump, he said.
“Heritage sites vary according to significance and several different criteria relate to each type of site,” Anderson said.
The method of heritage assessment consists of several steps. The first step, he said, is the desktop assessment. This is where databases that contain known heritage sites – known memorials, battlefields, cemeteries and other protected sites – are assessed and an architect, palaeontologist and historian also consulted.
“The database search indicated that archaeological sites exist in the general area,” Anderson said. The samples are in the possession of Umlando and will be curated shortly.
Source: Daily News [September 14, 2011]
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| Chelina Bodhie at the construction site where the shells and bones were found [Credit: INLSA] |
“The entire North Coast is noted for historical findings as large farming communities occupied the area,” said Chelina Bodhie, the environmental officer on site. Bodhie said the particular area where the findings were discovered formed part of an old kraal.
When independent environmental compliance officer, Harold Thornhill, noted various shards while clearing the sand, he noted a shell midden.
Anderson explains that a shell midden is a heap of shells stacked or dumped in one particular area and reflects some of the marine food people ate.
Anderson and his wife, Louise, have recorded many sites near the Ballito interchange and along the freeway that have evidence of Iron Age shell middens over the past 1 700 years.
The area was cordoned off because human remains, from the Late Iron Age, often occur underneath or near shell middens. Anderson said if the material dates to the Late Iron Age, then there was a possibility of human remains occurring on the site.
One bird bone, a fragment of possible hippo bone, brown mussels and a few oyster shells and limpets were found. But no human remains, Anderson confirmed.
The site, which was not significant enough to warrant an excavation, was however sampled over the duration of a day. Construction of the N2-Ballito interchange has since resumed.
 |
| Fragments of shell and bone predating Shaka were found recently during the upgrade of the N2-Ballito interchange [Credit: INLSA] |
“Heritage sites vary according to significance and several different criteria relate to each type of site,” Anderson said.
The method of heritage assessment consists of several steps. The first step, he said, is the desktop assessment. This is where databases that contain known heritage sites – known memorials, battlefields, cemeteries and other protected sites – are assessed and an architect, palaeontologist and historian also consulted.
“The database search indicated that archaeological sites exist in the general area,” Anderson said. The samples are in the possession of Umlando and will be curated shortly.
Source: Daily News [September 14, 2011]