Page 81 - Research & Innovation Report 2020

ENGINEERING, THE BUILT
ENVIRONMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

The fish traps are over 2000 years old; they are hand-made rock walls strategically designed to work with the currents and tides
and trap fish at high tide.

Cape’. The paper was approved by the Khoisan chiefs, who are 2018/19 are no longer visible as they were completely covered in
acknowledged as co-researchers: Chief Thomas Augustus; Chief sand during a storm in 2020. The same storm revealed new fish
Jean Burgess; Chief Margaret Coetzee; Chief William Human; traps and Dr Minguzzi had to quickly complete the site surveys in
Chief Daantjie Japhta; Chief Brato Malgas; Chief Xam ≠ Gaob collaboration with colleagues from the School of Architecture, Lucy
Maleiba; Chief Deon Spandiel; Paramount Chief Gert Cornelius Vosloo and Hansie Vosloo.
Steenkamp; Chief Wallace Williams and Chief Michael Williams.
Dr Minguzzi and the chiefs further collaborated at the new
There is a deeply poignant element of time and tide in their sites with ocean sciences researchers Dr Paula Pattrick of the
work. Fish traps surveyed in the Cape Recife Nature Reserve in South African Environment Observation Network (SAEON) and

“ ... we know they were there more than 2000

years ago and that they were built and used

by people along the coast. These are the most

ancient sites, culturally and architecturally,

along the Eastern Cape coast.”

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