Heritage Specialist Study for the Proposed Completion of the R45 Corridor, Malmesbury, Western Cape

HERITAGE SPECIALIST STUDY FOR THE PROPOSED COMPLETION OF THE R45 CORRIDOR, MALMESBURY, WESTERN CAPE

(Assessment conducted under Section 38 (8) of the National Heritage Resources Act (No. 25 of 1999) as part of an EIA)

Prepared for SRK Consulting (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd Private Bag X18 Rondebosch 7701 Tel: 021 659 3060 Email: [email protected]

June 2014 Revised April 2015 Revised August 2015 Revised May 2016

Prepared by Natalie Kendrick Tim Hart

ACO Associates Unit D17 Prime Park Mocke Rd Diep River

Phone 0217064104 Fax 6037195 [email protected]

Contents

1 Introduction ...... 5 2 Methodology ...... 6 2.1 Restrictions ...... 7 3 Description of the affected environment...... 7 3.1 History of the affected area...... 7 3.1.1 The cultural landscape ...... 8 4 Findings...... 9 5 Assessment of Impacts ...... 10 5.1 Archaeology ...... 10 5.2 Mitigation ...... 12 6 Conclusion ...... 12 7 Recommendations ...... 12 8 Bibliography...... 13 9 APPENDIX 1 ...... 15

Executive Summary

The Western Cape Department of Transport and Public Works (WCDTPW) propose to complete the Regional Route R45 road corridor between National Route N7 and the R46 at Malmesbury in the Western Cape. The project involves the route determination and construction of a new roadway of approximately 6 to 8 km in length, linking the R45/N7 intersection and the R45/R46 intersection to complete the R45 road corridor to the northeast of Malmesbury. The project forms part of a larger transport infrastructure project for a freight route linking the Saldanha Bay area to the major inter-regional transport routes in the Western Cape (Background Information Document SRK).

Three alternative alignments (1, 2 and 6) were distilled from 6 potential routes after completion of the scoping process.

A desktop archaeological assessment of three alternatives for the proposed activity has revealed that archaeologists who have worked in the area have reported very little of archaeological significance.

Although artefacts dating to the early Stone Age are relatively common, historic landscape transformation resulting from both natural factors and a long history of formal agriculture has destroyed most of the spatial integrity of any surface archaeological sites.

The landscape quality of the site consists of gently rolling hills which have been transformed by agriculture since the early 19th century. Contour ploughing has taken place throughout creating a form of designed landscape. This landscape is typical of the Swartland and not without aesthetic appeal being green and verdant in the winter months and assuming a contrasting yet also colourful quality during the dry summers, especially at dawn and dusk. Given the very old agricultural history of the Swartland together with its aesthetic qualities, grade lll heritage status (b-c) is warranted. The proposed bypass road, provided that complex interchanges are avoided will not impact this significance in that it will benefit the heritage qualities of the older part of Malmesbury and provide greater access to the surrounding countryside.

It must be noted that specific desktop information for any of the three alternatives does not exist so there is no evidence on archaeological grounds to suggest that any alternative be favoured over another.

The proposed activity is considered acceptable and the general significance of any impacts is likely to be low given the general insensitivity of transformed agricultural areas.

Similarly it is not possible to suggest specific mitigation for each route other than to recommend that final route should be subject to a walk-down by an archaeologist prior to construction.

1 Introduction

ACO Associates has been appointed by SRK Consulting to conduct a desk top Heritage Specialist Study as part of the Environmental Impact Assessment for the proposed new road to link the R45/N7 intersection with the R45/R46 intersection to the northeast of Malmesbury. SRK Consulting has submitted a Notice of Intent to Develop (NID) to Heritage Western Cape (HWC). HWC responded requesting an Heritage Impact Assessment (consisting of an archaeological desk top study) in terms of S.38(8) of the NHRA Act 25 of 1999. Once the first draft of the desktop study was submitted, further comment on cultural landscape impacts was requested. The following report is a desktop study reflecting available information.

The first submission to Heritage Western Cape received negative comment with respect to the proposed R45-R46 interchange which was deemed to be overly complex resulting in negative impacts to the rural landscape. Lower key interchanges are proposed, however depending on future traffic volumes complex interchanges may be necessary in the distant future. Details are provided in Appendix 1.

Eastern intersection (bypass and DR1149):

Access to Malmesbury will be provided via the existing DR1149 (‘Access 1’) through a double quarter link to provide access between DR1149 and the new road (left-in left-out operation only). The DR1149 will be slightly realigned to pass under the R45 (at a grade-separated intersection), so that local (farm) traffic does not need to cross the R45 when travelling to or from Malmesbury on local access roads. The DR1149 will be surfaced south of the new intersection. In the long term, a grade separated

5 interchange may be constructed at the existing DR1149, if there is sufficient demand /traffic volume.

Western intersection (bypass and R45/R46)

An at-grade intersection will be constructed at the intersection of the new road with the existing R45 and R46 (‘Access 2’). In the long term, a grade separated interchange may be constructed at this intersection if there is sufficient demand/traffic volume. There will be a 500 m radius around intersections for areas possibly utilised for potential future intersection upgrades. Farming can continue in those areas at present.

Figure 1. The alternative 1, 2 & 6 to the north east of Malmesbury, linking the R45/N7 intersection and the R45/R46 intersection. More detailed maps are provided in the Appendix. Note that Alternative 6 overlaps 1 & 2.

2 Methodology

The desk top study was conducted through the compilation of reports submitted for HIAs and EIAs in the town of Malmesbury (it did not cover the entire Malmesbury magisterial district). These were firstly obtained from the South African Heritage Resource Agency’s (SAHRA) online data resource SAHRIS (www.sahris.org.za). Secondly, reports were viewed from ACO Associate’s own archives. An online review of published journal articles was also undertaken, however the area has not been subject to much by way of academic studies. These, along with a map survey and the expertise of ACO Associates were collated to provide a background archaeological heritage assessment that can evaluate known archaeological heritage, and likely heritage of the area in question.

2.1 Restrictions None of the reports and papers consulted covers the actual archaeology of the proposed alternative routes. Findings and suggested mitigation are based on extrapolation from closest observations. It cannot be stated with certainty what archaeological heritage lies on proposed routes as a field assessment was not requested. Without information specific to each route it is not possible to compare and rank the alternatives.

3 Description of the affected environment.

The study area is set within a mosaic of farmlands and rolling hills just to the North East of Malmesbury. This landscape is used for stock keeping, viticulture and production of wheat. It has been extensively farmed for the last 200 hundred years, however in places such as valley sides and river banks small amounts of indigenous vegetation has survived. Kaplan (2007) notes that the most of the areas around Malmesbury have been extensively grazed and have historically been intensely agricultural (mainly wheat). Hence vast tracks of landscape have been transformed as a result of sheet erosion and ploughing. Malmesbury is an historic town and regional centre which has developed around the banks of the Diep River.

Most of the heritage sites of the area lie within the urban edge of the town. The farmland does not include features such as rocky outcrops or shelters that may have attracted Middle and Later Stone Age occupations. No doubt the areas close to the river were important to Khoekhoe herding groups such as the Cochoqua, however the ephemeral archaeology typically left behind by transhumant herding peoples will have been destroyed by years of formal agriculture. A review of the proposed road routes using Google Earth imagery has revealed that they do not affect any visible heritage buildings or ruins.

3.1 History of the affected area.

Malmesbury is the ‘capital’ of the Swartland area (which also includes the towns Chatsworth, Kalbaskraal and Abbotsdale). Prior to the earliest European habitation of the Cape, the Swartland area was the grazing and hunting ground of the Cochoqua (Khoekhoen pastoralists). The first Dutch arrivals to the Cape sent expeditions to the interior to establish cattle trade with Khoekhoen, which was vital for the refreshment stations set up by the VOC at the coast. During the 17th century, the Swartland area saw movement and trade of cattle which were driven down the “cattle road” (which lay to the west of the N7) to Cape Town. The granting of land by

7 the VOC government to Freeburghers gradually pushed the Cochoqua out of the Swartland and established the area as the ‘bread basket of the Cape’.

At the heart of Malmesbury was the hot water spring (Die Bron), which attracted settlers and visitors. The wetlands attached to the Diep River were also prime grazing for cattle, ensuring that Malmesbury became a rest stop along the cattle route. Market gardens established along the river became the historic centre of settlement.

While the church was built ~ 1745 and the parsonage in 1771 (Fransen 2004), the town saw its largest growth during British occupation in the 1800s. It was named Malmesbury in 1829 by the Governor Sir Lowry Cole after his farther-in-law, the Earl of Malmesbury, when he visited the hot spring (now the site of a shopping centre). Malmesbury also saw large residential growth during the mid-20th century. The area around the town continued to be agricultural.

3.1.1 The cultural landscape The Swartland is a broad rural expanse of low rolling hills interspersed with farms, small communities and towns. Before the advent of wheat farming, the Swartland was characterised by “Renosterveld” plant communities which gave the area a dark- grey olive-green appearance when viewed from afar – hence the name Swartland (black country). The underlying geology which consists of schists and shales of the Malmesbury Group is considered to be good agricultural land, the shale being rich in trace elements, which before the advent of agriculture supported large quantities of game. The Berg River alluvial terraces contain copious quantities of Early and Middle Stone Age artefacts attesting to the occupation of this landscape by humans for a million years or more. Today the Swartland is one of the most important wheat producing areas of the nation. Almost every farmer is involved in the cultivation of wheat which has given the entire area its particular character and texture.

The establishment of the VOC freeburgher system intensified pressures on the land. Food production yielded dreadfully low financial returns for the farmers, as the VOC paid unrealistically low prices. This forced farmers to turn to hunting as a means of survival. Within a number of years the larger fauna, such as the hippos of the Berg River, were exterminated. This level of natural resource exploitation put the settlers into inevitable conflict with the local indigenous Khoekhoen groups in the region, which included the Souqua (Sonqua), Cochoqua, and further along the coast, the ‘Saldanhars’. The settlers’ numbers, their uncompromising drive, and firepower, all but guaranteed that the Khoekhoen would be pushed back and that the landscape, once teeming with wildlife, would irreversibly stripped of its natural fauna and flora (Hart 1987)

According to historic records, the Khoekhoen favoured the Swartland as grazing land as it was far better suited to raising cattle than the depleted soils of the Table

Mountain sandstones. The Berg River served as a corridor of permanent water and as such had a strong pull over the movement and settlement of people.

By the 19th century vast tracts of the Swartland were under wheat cultivation reaching an unsustainable climax in the 1930’s when sheet erosion caused by years of poor plowing practice brought wheat farming to its knees and caused many of the poorer landowners to be displaced and their land consolidated. It was not until the universal implementation of contour plowing and modern fertilizers that farming became sustainable again. The indigenous Renosterveld plant communities have disappeared save a few small patches of land where remnant communities have survived. Hence, over the last 200 years the Swartland became transformed from a game rich wilderness to a vast historic landscape of wheat cultivation, farmsteads and small towns. Hence the landscape has evolved from a natural landscape to a largely human transformed landscape in less than 150 years. Today the landscape is transformed and manicured – planted with wheat and vines it bears little resemblance to the qualities that gave the area its name, the Swartland (Hart 1987, Worden et al 1998).

Landscape Grade: Although this landscape is highly transformed to the extent that it can almost be considered to be human made, it has to be recognised as being an early historical landscape with a long history of farming and a certain amount of aesthetic appeal – verdant and green in winter, yet in the dry summer days colourful in its own characteristic way. A heritage grade lll is suggested varying between subgrade B and C.

4 Findings.

Hart (2013) states that “The extensive transformation of this area both in terms of the built environment and centuries of agriculture has reduced the archaeological potential of the area”.

There have been a number of heritage studies in the area. These have largely been undertaken for heritage and environmental assessments for the planning of roads and residential development.

Figure 2. The previous studies (yellow markers) in relation to the three bypass alternatives. These reports (all included in the bibliography) provided low to medium significance ratings for the respective areas. The reports all reflect similar findings despite the variety of projects and their contexts. Half of the assessments did not find anything of heritage significance, while others reported low density levels of stone artefacts, mostly of Early Stone Age and Middle Stone Age origin. In the majority of studies no mitigation was recommended due to the low significance of the finds and the disturbed contexts in which they existed.

Artefacts were found on one of the two assessed sites that are closest to the bypass alternatives on the eastern side of the town. These were on the farm Klipfontein, where only a few ESA flakes were found in a degraded and very disturbed context (Kaplan 2007). There were also a couple of historic ceramic shards, which were undated. No mitigation was recommended.

The Swartland was clearly rich in archaeological sites as generally there is a high volume of material dispersed throughout the wheat lands. Years of landscape transformation has had a huge impact on its spatial integrity and diminished its value. On a macro level, the broad distribution of the artefact scatters are important as they indicate what parts of the landscape were favoured by humans over different time periods.

5 Assessment of Impacts

5.1 Archaeology Archaeological sites and graves are typically sensitive to disturbance of the land or context in which they are situated. This means that any work that involves

10 excavation or remodelling of the landscape has the potential to disturb archaeological material and its context. In this particular instance, years of ploughing of the landscape have already inflicted a great deal of disturbance so further changes to the landscape are not of great significance – the damage has already been done. In broad terms the landscape is of moderate archaeological sensitivity.

The bypass alternatives are outside of the Malmesbury residential area and clear of the historical areas of the town. They cross grazing and agricultural land, while the alternatives 2 and 6 cross the Riebeeks River to the east. Some of the proposed new municipal access roads and future district roads follow existing roads and tracks and therefore will have a minimal impact on archaeological material. The bypass alternatives do not follow existing tracks and therefore will be a new road through mainly transformed agricultural land which is generally not archaeologically sensitive.

Table 1 Loss/disturbance of archaeological resources.

Extent Intensity Duration Consequence Probability Significance Status Confidence Without Local Medium Long-term Medium Possible Low – ve High mitigation 1 2 3 6 Essential mitigation measures:  Avoid and protect archaeological sites wherever possible.  Reports any finds that seem unusual to Heritage Western Cape.  Commission archaeologist to undertake a walk-down of the preferred alternative prior to construction to photograph and record any finds. Best practice mitigation measures:  Completely mitigate through scientific excavation any archaeological site that will be physically impacted.  Curation of material should involve full basic analysis and radio-metric dating of sites as necessary. With Local Low Long-term Very low INSIGNIFICA Neutra Improbable High mitigation 1 1 1 3 NT l-+ve

The landscape and setting

The Swartland a large historical landscape extending from the outskirts of Cape Town to beyond the Picketberg range. It will not be impacted to any major extent by the proposal to construct a 2-lane bypass road. The accumulative impact will be negligible. There will be a heritage benefit in terms of relieving some of the traffic congestion in the older areas of Malmesbury which will make these areas more desirable for business and residential purposes..

Extent Intensity Duration Consequence Probability Significance Status Confidence Without Local Medium Long-term Medium Possible Low – ve High mitigation 1 2 3 6 Essential mitigation measures:  Avoid complex interchanges.  Best practice mitigation measures:  Avoid complex interchange with R45 and R46 With Local Low Long-term low Improbable Low Neutra High

mitigation 1 1 1 3 l-+ve

5.2 Mitigation

Since this is a desktop study, there is little by way of specific mitigation that can be suggested. There are also no definitive reasons on either archaeology or built environment or landscape grounds to suggest that one alternative would be more suitable than another as the depth of information required is not available at desktop level. Other environmental considerations should influence the choice. It is suggested however that when a final alternative has been decided on, a walk-down of the route should be undertaken by an archaeologist to record in loco any material that may exist and photograph a representative sample of artefacts. It would need to be accepted by the archaeologist that the route is final and cannot be changed.

In terms of impacts to landscape, on receipt of the first draft of the report by Heritage Western Cape concern was expressed with respect to the complex interchanges that were required for linking the bypass road to the R45 and R46. It was strongly felt that this was not sympathetic with a rural agricultural environment and should therefore be simplified. The proposal has been moderated to accommodate this concern (however the interchange may need expansion depending on future traffic demands).

6 Conclusion

The review of local reports and published articles has found that there are no archaeological heritage sites of high significance reported in the study area thus far. The landscapes through which the bypass alternatives pass have been heavily transformed, meaning that any in-situ archaeological material that did exist, is unlikely to have survived in context. A map and google earth review did not find any grave sites indicated along the bypass alternatives. However, there may be informal and prehistoric graves that will only be apparent when surveyed or during construction.

The significance of the heritage impact of the all the proposed bypass alternatives has been rated Low.

7 Recommendations

It is recommended that the proposed activity is considered acceptable, subject to any further requirements of Heritage Western Cape. There is no preferred option between the three bypass alternatives,

Low density artefact scatters may be encountered; however these are not expected to be prehistoric sites of high significance due to transformation of the area by years of agriculture.

It is recommended that a walk-down be carried out of the final alignment prior to construction to record and photograph any material that may be found within the new road reserve.

Graves may be impacted during construction, at which time the matter needs to be reported to an archaeologist immediately, and/or Heritage Western Cape for advice. The find-site must be left as intact as possible (treated like a crime scene) until it has been checked by appropriate personnel and exhumation undertaken.

8 Bibliography

Deacon, J. July 2007. St Dicks Aeroport. Proposal to develop a ‘Fly In Estate’ with runways, hangers and housing on parts of two farm properties, Nassau and Windhoek, 7 km south of Malmesbury, adjacent to the R302.

Deacon, J. April 2008. Majuba Cattle Housing. Proposal to develop two sheds to house 1000 cattle and an evaporation pond for wastewater on the farm Majuba, 10 km outside Malmesbury.

Deacon, D. April 2008. Proposal to manage the clearing of the channel of the No Go River passing through the town of Moorreesburg to prevent flooding.

Fransen, H. 2004. A guide to the old buildings of the Cape. Cape Town: Jonathan Ball.

Fransen, H. 2006. Old Townss and Villages of the Cape. Cape Town: Jonathan Ball.

Halket, D. March 1995. Report On The Phase One Archaeological Investigation Of Aspects Of The Site Known As Die Bron In Malmesbury.

Halket, D. March 2009. An Assessment Of The Impacts On Heritage Of The Proposed Storm Water Detention Pond And Associated Infrastructure On The Farm Dassenberg (Farm No 15), Chatsworth.

Hart, T. June 2012. Heritage Baseline Study For The Proposed Expansion Of The N7 Between Philadephia (Km 26) And Leliefontein (Km 43). Malmesbury Magisterial District, Western Cape.

Hart, T.J.G. 1987. Porterville survey. In Parkington, J & Hall, M.J. eds. Papers in the Prehistory of the Western Cape, South Africa. Oxford: BAR International Series 332

Hart, T. August 2013. Heritage Baseline Study For The Proposed Upgrade Of The N7, Phase 3, (Lelliefontein – Abottsdale – Malmsbury- Hopefield Intersection).

Kaplan, J. July 2005. Phase 1 Archaeological Impact Assessment Proposed Development Of A Portion Of Farm 688 Malmesbury Western Cape Province.

Kaplan, J. August 2006. Phase 1 Archaeological Impact Assessment. Proposed Sand Mining on a Part of the Farm Olyvenhoek 818, Remainder Malmesbury Western Cape Province.

Kaplan, J. December 2006. Phase 1 Archaeological Impact Assessment. Proposed development Schoonspruit Country estate. Portion of erf 317, Protion of erf 7455 & Erf 882. Malmesbury. Western Cape Province.

Kaplan, J. January 2007. Phase 1 Archaeology Impact Assessment. Proposed Development. Portion 2 of Farm 690 and Remainder of the Farm Klipfontein 688 (Glen Lily) Malmesbury Western Cape Province.

Kaplan, J. June 2007. Phase 1 Archaeological Impact Assesment Proposed development Precinct 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6. Malmesbury Western Cape. Portion of erf 317, Portion of erf 7455, a Portion of Farm Oranje Fontein 113, Portion of farm 771 Rozenburg. Portion of Portion 1 of Farm 697 and a Portion of Portion 2 of Farm 695 Malmesbury.

Kaplan, J. May 2008. Phase 1 Archaeological Impact Assessment Proposed Elsana Quarry (Farm No. 701 Lange Kloof) Malmesbury Western Cape Province..

.Worden, N, Van Heyningen, E & V. Bickford-Smith, 1998: Cape Town: The Making of a City: an Illustrated Social History, D. Philip, South Africa.

9 APPENDIX 1

Alternatives 1, 2 & 6

Figure 3. Alernative 1

Figure 4. Alternative 2.

Figure 5 Alternative 6.

Appendix 2. Illustrative material depicting landscape qualities