PHASE 1 AIA HERITAGE SCREENER BORROW PITS STERKSPRUIT EASTERN CAPE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT OF BORROW PITS ALONG ROADS DR08606 AND DR08515, FARM 301 RE/88, STERKSPRUIT, SENQU LOCAL MUNICIPALITY, JOE GQABI DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY, EASTERN CAPE PROVINCE. PREPARED FOR: ISIPHO ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANTS PREPARED BY: SKY-LEE FAIRHURST HEIDI FIVAZ & JAN ENGELBRECHT UBIQUE HERITAGE CONSULTANTS 28 JUNE 2020 VERSION 2 Web: www.ubiquecrm.com Mail: [email protected] Office: (+27)0721418860 Address: P.O. Box 5022 Weltevredenpark 1715 CSD Supplier Number MAAA0586123 PHASE 1 AIA HERITAGE SCREENER BORROW PITS STERKSPRUIT EASTERN CAPE Client: Isipho Environmental Consultants Contact Person: Andisiwe Stuurman Mobile: (+27) 081 410 2569 Email: [email protected] Heritage Consultant: UBIQUE Heritage Consultants Contact Person: Jan Engelbrecht (archaeologist and lead CRM specialist) Member of the Association of Southern African Professional Archaeologists: Member number: 297 Cell: (+27) 082 845 6276 Email: [email protected] Heidi Fivaz (archaeologist) Member of the Association of Southern African Professional Archaeologists: Member number: 433 Cell: (+27) 072 141 8860 Email: [email protected] Sky-Lee Fairhurst (archaeologist) Research Assistant Cell: (+27) 071 366 5770 Email: [email protected] Declaration of independence: We, Jan Engelbrecht and Heidi Fivaz, partners of UBIQUE Heritage Consultants, hereby confirm our independence as heritage specialists and declare that: • we are suitably qualified and accredited to act as independent specialists in this application; • we do not have any vested interests (either business, financial, personal or other) in the proposed development project other than remuneration for the heritage assessment and heritage management services performed; • the work was conducted in an objective and ethical manner, in accordance with a professional code of conduct and within the framework of South African heritage legislation. Signed: Date: 2020-06-28 J.A.C. Engelbrecht, H. Fivaz & S. Fairhurst UBIQUE Heritage Consultants Copyright: This report is confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom it is addressed or to whom it was meant to be addressed. It is provided solely for the purposes set out in it and may not, in whole or in part, be used for any other purpose or by a third party, without the author's prior written consent. Web: www.ubiquecrm.com Mail: [email protected] Office: (+27)116750125 PHASE 1 AIA HERITAGE SCREENER BORROW PITS STERKSPRUIT EASTERN CAPE SUMMARY OF SPECIALIST EXPERTISE JAN ENGELBRECHT CRM ARCHAEOLOGIST Jan Engelbrecht is accredited by the Cultural Resources Management section of the Association of Southern African Professional Archaeologists (ASAPA) to undertake Phase1 AIAs and HIAs in South Africa. He is also a member of the Association for Professional Archaeologists (ASAPA). Mr Engelbrecht holds an honours degree in archaeology (specialising in the history of early farmers in southern Africa (Iron Age) and Colonial period) from the University of South Africa. He has 12 years' experience in heritage management. He has worked on projects as diverse as the Zulti South HIA project of Richards Bay Minerals, research on the David Bruce heritage site at Ubombo in Kwa-Zulu Natal, and various archaeological excavations and historical projects. He has worked with many rural communities to establish integrated heritage and land use plans and speaks Zulu fluently. Mr Engelbrecht established Ubique Heritage Consultants during 2012. The company moved from KZN to the Northern Cape and is currently based at Askham in the Northern Cape within the Dawid Kruiper Local Municipality in the Kgalagadi region. He had a significant military career as an officer, whereafter he qualified as an Animal Health Technician at Technikon RSA and UNISA. He is currently studying for his MA Degree in Archaeology. HEIDI FIVAZ ARCHAEOLOGIST & OBJECT CONSERVATOR Heidi Fivaz has been a part of UBIQUE Heritage Consultants since 2016 and is responsible for research and report compilation. She holds a B.Tech. Fine Arts degree (2000) from Tshwane University of Technology, a BA Culture and Arts Historical Studies degree (2012) from UNISA and received her BA (Hons) Archaeology in 2015 (UNISA). She has received extensive training in object conservation from the South African Institute of Object Conservation and specialises in glass and ceramics conservation. She is also a skilled artefact and archaeological illustrator. Ms Fivaz is currently completing her MA Archaeology at the University of South Africa (UNISA), with a focus on historical and industrial archaeology. She is a professional member of the Association of South African Archaeologists and has worked on numerous archaeological excavation and surveying projects over the past ten years. SKY-LEE FAIRHURST ARCHAEOLOGIST Sky-Lee Fairhurst has been informally part of UBIQUE Heritage Consultants since 2019. She is responsible for research and desktop studies. Miss Fairhurst obtained her BA in Archaeology and Biblical archaeology in 2016 and her BA Hons in Archaeology (cum laude) at the University of South Africa (UNISA) in 2018, focussing on research themes such as gender, households and Late Iron Age settlements. She is currently continuing to pursue her interest in early southern African agropastoral societies as an MA Archaeology student at the University of South Africa (UNISA). She is skilled at artefact and archaeological illustrations. Over the past eight years, she has obtained a considerable amount of excavation experience and has worked on a variety of sites including Palaeontological, Historical and Iron Age sites. Web: www.ubiquecrm.com Mail: [email protected] Office: (+27)721418860 i PHASE 1 AIA HERITAGE SCREENER BORROW PITS STERKSPRUIT EASTERN CAPE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Project description UBIQUE Heritage Consultants were appointed by Isipho Environmental Consultants as independent heritage specialists in accordance with Section 38 of the NHRA and the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 (NEMA), to conduct a cultural heritage screening desktop study to determine the probability of impact of the proposed establishment of three borrow pits for road construction, undertaken by the Eastern Cape Department of Transport, near Sterkspruit, in the Senqu Local Municipality, Joe Gqabi District Municipality, in the Eastern Cape Province, on any possible sites, features, or objects of cultural heritage significance. Findings of Heritage Screener and Probable Impact on Heritage Resources Very few Heritage and Archaeological Impact Assessments have been undertaken within a 50 km radius of the development area, with only five studies conducted around Sterkspruit, and none within a 5 km radius of the borrow pit sites. The background study revealed that little Stone Age material had been documented through impact assessments near the study area. In one instance single MSA occurrences were recorded about 30 km from the current study area, these have, however, been graded as low heritage significance. Nevertheless, the Eastern Cape is known for numerous Stone Age sites (many of which have been excavated/documented in the past). Documented sites are predominantly situated within rocky shelters, with a few instances of open-air sites. The possibility of open-air Stone Age sites/occurrences in the development area should not be disregarded. Numerous rock-art sites have been recorded throughout the region; however, these can mainly be found in rock shelters. The probability of such sites located in the development area is scarce, but again, it should not be overlooked. No Iron Age sites have been recorded near the development area, which would suggest that the likelihood of such sites being present in the development area is low. Archaeological features that are most sensitive appear to be the colonial-era structures recorded in the wider region. Structures that have heritage significance have been predominantly attributed to regional colonial farming history and some to historic railway networks of the region. The digital survey revealed that there are two structural features located northeast of proposed borrow Pit 2 (BP2), as well as possible structural features situated south and southeast of Borrow Pit 5a (BP5a) and Borrow Pit 5b (BP5b). The significance and extent, as well as the historical and archaeological context of the structures, are unknown. Graves and informal cemeteries can be expected anywhere in the landscape. Isolated graves have been recorded within homestead areas near the current development area. Informal graveyards consisting of stone cairns, as well as family graves and cemeteries, can be anticipated close to farmsteads. Due to the current houses situated near BP2, the high probability of isolated graves and family graves in the vicinity of the borrow pits should not be ignored. Web: www.ubiquecrm.com Mail: [email protected] Office: (+27)721418860 ii PHASE 1 AIA HERITAGE SCREENER BORROW PITS STERKSPRUIT EASTERN CAPE Limitations of this heritage screener are determined by the amount of information available on the South African Heritage Resources Information System (SAHRIS), and the clarity of satellite imaging. Archaeological features like surface artefact scatters, middens, overgrown foundations and graves will not show up in a digital survey. Surface or sub-surface archaeological sites, graves and informal cemeteries could be directly impacted during the proposed construction of the borrow pits. The minimal amount