Cape Town - Two Western Cape sites are in the running to achieve World Heritage status as the Unesco World Heritage Committee meets this week to deliberate.
The Diepkloof Rock Shelter close to Elands Bay and the Pinnacle Point Site in Mossel Bay will be on the table at the meeting in New Delhi, which takes place until next Wednesday.
The nomination, which includes the Sibhudu Cave in KwaDukuza in KwaZulu-Natal, is titled The Emergence of Modern Human Behaviour: The Pleistocene Occupation Sites of South Africa.
The three sites are featured in the nomination as Middle Stone Age sites that contribute significant evidence to our understanding of the origins of modern human behaviour.
The Diepkloof Rock Shelter, which was declared a Provincial Heritage Site in 2015, takes its name from the nearby Diepkloof stream. It is situated between Elands Bay and Redelinghuys and overlooks the Verlorenvlei wetland.
Excavated for over 40 years, the rock shelter site contains one of the most complete and continuous Middle Stone Age archaeological sequences in southern Africa.
Unesco noted: “Diepkloof Rock Shelter in the Western Cape is situated about 17km from the shoreline of the Atlantic in a semi-arid area near Elands Bay, about 150km north of Cape Town. It occurs in quartzitic sandstone in a ridge about 100m above the Verlorenvlei River.
“Research is based upon finds discovered in a trench that is 16m across and 3.6m in depth. The deposits consist of burnt and nonburnt organic residues and ash from hearths, ash dumps and burnt bedding. (A total of) 270 fragments of ostrich eggshell containers have been found covered with engraved geometric patterns.”
“The fragments have a maximum size of 20–30mm, though a number have been fitted into larger 80×40mm fragments. It is estimated that fragments from 25 containers have been found. Eggshell fragments have been found throughout the period of occupation of the cave but those with engraving are found only in several layers within the Howiesons Poort period.”
The archaeological site of Pinnacle Point, where an international team of researchers found some of the earliest evidence for modern human behaviour, was declared a Provincial Heritage Site in 2012.
Pinnacle Point has also been instrumental in the reconstruction of overall environmental changes over the course of its occupation and scientists have been able to reconstruct the position of the sea level.
“Pinnacle Point preserves a unique sequence of human occupation from 170 000 (years ago) to pre-colonial human occupation embedded in a rich record for climate and environmental change and warrants inclusion in a World Heritage Site,” Unesco noted.
It said the list of sites represents the common heritage of humanity and a collection of cultural and natural treasures that transcend borders and generations.
National Heritage Council chief executive officer Thabo Manetsi said the two nominations have undergone extensive stakeholder engagement, quality assurance, and international evaluation, with management systems in place for post-inscription sustainability.
“South Africa currently has 10 sites declared as World Heritage Sites and should this nomination succeed, we will have an additional 11th World Heritage Site.
“Africa is under-represented in the World Heritage Listing, with only 8% of the sites declared as World Heritage Sites.
“The inscription of these two nominations will be a very proud moment for South Africa and the continent at large,” Manetsi said.
Mossel Bay mayor Dirk Kotzé said the World Heritage status will have a powerful impact on tourism and the local economy.
“The discovery of the emergence of modern human behaviour in Mossel Bay has attracted a huge amount of attention from around the world,” Kotzé said.
Cultural Affairs and Sport MEC Ricardo Mackenzie said these sites were not only global archaeological treasures, but were symbols of resilience, creativity, and capacity for innovation.
Cape Argus