Unearthing the secrets of the past
Richards Bay Minerals which mines mineral sands from the dunes of the coast of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa has formed a unique partnership with a team of archeologists and local residents. They are working together to bring to the surface the secrets of the first inhabitants of this eastern seaboard who lived there more than 1,500 years ago.
The mining operation, working best in free flowing sands, requires the removal of vegetation and topsoil, which means that archeologists can literally walk onto exposed sites. Mining has provided the opportunity to uncover sites that would otherwise have been lost forever.
The project, which started in 1994, has involved excavating or recording over 140 archeological sites spanning 1,700 years. It also encompasses a two year project to record amasiko, the dwindling centuries old African tradition of preserving history via oral story telling.
What is being pieced together is a cultural history of the first farmers of the region. It is a story of a people whose past has now been given substance with the uncovering of important artefacts.
The Mananga Heritage centre is testament to the unearthed heritage. Here, user friendly exhibits and fascinating artefacts uncovered on the dunes are displayed in three thatched rondavels complete with authentic clay walls and floors of polished anthill clay and cattle dung. This novel archeological interpretive centre explores the history of the local Mbonambi community dating from the early Iron Age.
The centre is the culmination of work undertaken over several years by archeologists and anthropologists of the Natal Museum and Amafa aKwaZulu-Natali who have been contracted by Richards Bay Minerals to assess the cultural resources exposed during mining activities.
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