CT skeletons out of closet
2003-07-23 22:10
Yvonne Beyers
Cape Town - An estimated 1 000 skeletons will come out the closet during an archaeological dig in which Cape Town's heritage will being laid bare.
About 265 skeletons have already been discovered on the corner of Prestwich and Alfred Street in Greenpoint after a burial ground dating back to the 17th century was found there on June 6.
The human remains were discovered after a building on the site was demolished and foundations for a block of flats were dug.
In terms of the Heritage Resources Act the development was immediately put on hold temporarily. Developers now have to pay to exhume and transport the remains.
The developer Ari Efstathiou said on Wednesday exhuming and handling the unforeseen find would cost millions.
Dr Antonia Malan of the Forum for Cultural Monuments and Resources said it was estimated the graveyard would yield the remains of about 1 000 people - the most ever exhumed in South Africa.
Slaves, poor
"They are skeletons of slaves, the poor, and people who did not belong to the church. They were buried here from the early 17th century until about 1850. These people could not be buried in the military or NG Church's cemetery and were therefore buried in shallow graves beyond the colonial boundaries of the city," said Malan.
David Hart of the South African Heritage Resources Agency (Sahra) said the exhumation and study of the remains will reveal the history of the city's "less important" inhabitants. "The skeletons are our only connection with the history of the Cape's inhabitants whose stories were never recorded."
Professor Alan Morriss of the Department of Human Biology at Cape Town University said the remains would be analysed to gather information about the illnesses, lifestyles and social patterns of the time in which the slaves lived.
"Human history is preserved in our bones and teeth. By studying the remains we can not only glean insights into the people, but also learn more about the society of the time.
- Die Burger