Analysis of the Voigtspost Site, O.F.S., South Africa

Abstract

The Voigtspost saltpan (Liebenbergspan) is located between Bloemfontein and Kimberley at the centre of the South African highveld (Fig. 1). Two occurrences of artefacts have been observed here, embedded in and eroded from a sandy layer near the rim of the present saltpan (Fig. 3). The younger site was named Voigtspost 0; the older, Voigtspost 1. Many artefacts of so-called 'Middle Stone Age' and of mixed affinities were also observed in the area, but have not been located in situ. The Voigtspost saltpan is a shallow depression, three kilometres across. The centre, which is some 8-10 m lower than the area around the pan, contains seasonally varying amounts of water. The Voigtspost saltpan is only one of many such pans on the highveld plateau. The origin of these pans is not clear, the general suggestion being that they are aeolian blow-outs. Water concentrates in some pans after rain when the raised groundwater table carries salts in solution from the rocks of the Permo-Triassic Karroo Supergroup. In some pans, such as at Voigtspost, salt is concentrated and mined by evaporation techniques. The finds in the two sites mainly comprise artefacts and ostrich eggshell fragments. In addition, the older site revealed many fragments of grindstones, and the younger yielded some undiagnostic ceramic sherds. Since both sites appeared partly in situ and contained datable material, it was decided to carry out a multidisciplinary study of the area, to reveal information on the inhabitation of this part of the Orange Free State. The geomorphology was studied, artefacts have been collected, samples were gathered for palynological analyses, including Recent ones for comparison, and the ostrich eggshells were radiocarbon dated.