Archaeological monuments in KwaZulu-Natal: a procedure for the identification of value

Abstract

Over 200 sites of colonial heritage in KwaZulu-Natal are national monuments, mostly reflecting the culture and history of white South Africans. In 1994 only one precolonial site had this status. This imbalance in colonial and precolonial national monuments is due partly to the late development of archaeological research in the province, and partly to the policy of the national heritage agency since the 1950's. In the early 1990's, the National and KwaZulu monuments councils each funded a project to identify archaeological sites in the province worthy of national monuments status. This paper presents the results of the projects. These include criteria to evaluate archaeological sites for possible monument status, and a list of 35 of the most important sites in the province. The criteria take cognisance of both the scientific value of a site and of its value as may be perceived by the public. Four of the identified sites have since been declared national monuments. The disparity between colonial and precolonial monuments remains, however, and needs to be addressed with some urgency if heritage managers hope to receive popular support for their work. Hopefully Amafa aKwaZulu-Natali, the proposed new provincial heritage agency, will take up this issue.