It’s Not Gelling: Conservation Mitigation at Bonne Esperance 016 Rock Art Site, Makgabeng, South Africa

ABSTRACT

South Africa is richly endowed with rock art but interest in its conservation has not been given much priority. The country has been slow in developing adequate and effective conservation protocols due to lack of research interest in conservation. There are three main challenges that affect the conservation of rock art: 1) absence of coherent monitoring systems for conservation interventions; 2) lack of local expertise in rock art conservation; and 3) limited financial resources for conservation leading to an over-reliance on donor funding. In this paper we draw from the ‘Four Rock Art Sites Conservation Project’ a Rock Art Research Institute initiative funded through the US Ambassadors fund for Cultural Preservation, and outline how these challenges have plagued conservation practice in South Africa. We highlight the positive outcomes of the project and propose recommendations’ for conservation management in South Africa.

KEYWORDS:

• Rock art
• conservation
• practice
• South Africa
• challenges
• prospects

Acknowledgements

Special thanks are extended to the Makgabeng community especially Filix Mosebedi, Sherley Raseruthe and Jonas Ngoako Tlouamma for their cooperation, support and care for heritage. We thank our colleague for useful comments to the draft of this paper. Gratitude goes to the United States Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (2011 Cycle) for funding the four rock art site project. Sincere thanks to the University of the Witwatersrand and the National Research Foundation Grants number 80548 and 117758 that enabled some of this research. Finally, we thank the reviewers for their insightful comments and suggestions. The views expressed here are our own.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Elijah Dumisani Katsetse

Elijah Dumisani Katsetse is a professionally trained archaeologist with diverse research interests. Between 2011-2015 he was part of the project team on ‘The Four Rock Art Sites Project’ which undertook conservation interventions on significant public rock art sites in the Drakensberg and Makgabeng, South Africa funded by the US Ambassador for Cultural Preservation Fund. In 2015 he was part of the project team that put together the Walter Battiss exhibition at the Rock Art Research Institute, University of the Witwatersrand. His research interests cover areas of archaeological and heritage conservation and management, museum and curatorial studies, architectural history and conservation, urban and regional planning practices as well as environmental governance. Elijah Dumisani held a lectureship at the University of the Witwatersrand in the school of architecture and planning where he taught in subjects ranging from Histories and theories of Architecture, Architectural Heritage and Conservation as well as Settlements through History. He is also a PhD candidate in the School of Architecture and Planning, University of the Witwatersrand. His thesis focuses on competing planning discourses, heritage discourses and how these play out in practice through the construction and interpretation of the Historic Urban Landscape. Elijah Dumisani is currently an Archaeology, Palaeontology and Meteorites Research and Permitting Officer at the South African Heritage Resources Agency.

Catherine Namono

Catherine Namono is a Senior Lecturer in rock art, heritage management and conservation, School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. She is interested in developing an understanding of the complex symbolism of African rock art and approaches that include perceptions of landscape of past and present communities. Catherine is passionate about heritage conservation and management, archives and social responsibility, community heritage tourism, African knowledge systems and the inclusion of local voices in knowledge production.