Archaeology at UNISA

Congratulations to Mr Benjamin Marais, who has successfully completed his MA in Archaeology with a dissertation entitled:
"Space and material culture: an archaeological investigation of a Mid‑19th‑Century Fort on the Eastern Frontier: the archeology of Fort Fordyce"

"The Eastern Cape Province of South Africa is a territory where conflict has occurred for much of its recent history. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, between 1779 and 1878, nine Frontier Wars took place. Research on forts and other frontier sites in the area has been limited and little is known archaeologically about the Waterkloof triangle and Fort Fordyce, which was constructed in 1852 during the Eighth Frontier War (1850 – 1853). This research investigates the spatial arrangements of Fort Fordyce and assesses the material culture recovered during excavations. Survey and mapping are key components of the research and have led to a better understanding of this little-known site around which some of the fiercest frontier fighting took place."

Benjamin’s dissertation is now available on Unisa’s institutional repository at: https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32273

Congratulations to our 2025 Honours graduates!

Ready to take your research further? 🔍
Applications for the Kent & Ward Research Fund are officially OPEN!🔔

🚨 Maximum value of award: R30,000
📍 Supports archaeological research in southern Africa
🌱 Early-career archaeologists and researchers in southern Africa Africa are encouraged to apply

🗓 Deadline: 31 May 2026
📢 Outcomes: 1 July 2026

From fieldwork to publications — this fund helps bring your research to life!

👉 For application and more information click the link in our bio or scan the QR code

Please note that there have been some changes to the talk on 9 April because Peter Mitchell has had to cancel his flight from Oxford to South Africa due to the situation in the Middle East.

He will now give his talk online, which will be projected at Origins Centre after the AGM. Members or public who cannot attend in person can join using this Teams link https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/328087030567767?p=xzz0e1XCuNHZmg8hoi

The programme for the evening:

18:30 National AGM, with Peter Mitchell presenting his chairperson's report

19:00 Peter Mitchell 'Remembering Eeyore: archaeological perspectives on the donkey in human history'

The Cynthia Mitchell Research Fund is now open for applications!🎉

Support your fieldwork or lab research and take your studies to the next level.💻

🚨 Maximum value of award: R30,000
📍 Masters or PhD students registered at a university in South Africa or Lesotho and researching the Later Stone Age in South Africa and/or Lesotho

🗓 Deadline: 31 May 2026
📢 Outcomes: 1 July 2026

👉 For application and more information click the link in our bio or scan the QR code

Sign up to be a part of this fantastic training opportunity!!!

Call for papers: ASAPA 2026. Papers are invited for the Session: Reading the Past, Prompting the Future: African archaeology in the Age of AI. Abstracts due by 31 January 2026.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61583984812748

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-01-14-kzn-team-finds-oldest-evidence-of-arrow-row-poison-use-by-humans-on-60000yearold/

Team in KZN finds ‘oldest evidence’ of arrow poison by humans on 60,000-year-old arrowheads Scientists have discovered what they say are the oldest traces of arrow poison that had survived on 60,000-year-old arrowheads.The quartz arrowheads were excavated at the Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter in K