Excavations at Rose Cottage Cave

Objectives of the excavation
The objectives of this new fieldwork project taking place at Rose Cottage Cave include five main feasible and inter-related goals.
1. Excavating
We are planning to excavate in different areas: First, we will start digging from the top of the South Section of the Wadley excavation concerning the Wilton. Second, the former excavation floor of the Wadley excavation plus the features associated with the final/terminal MSA occupations will be partially excavated. Third, the main focus is on the excavation in the post-Howiesons Poort and deeper on the North Section of the Harper Trench and potentially the witness square L5. We will adopt classical excavation procedures (for more details on excavation and post-excavation protocol, see Appendix 2). Tasks related to excavation, including sieving using 3 and 1 mm meshes, and sorting will take place outside the shelter, as the field work progresses. Position of archaeological remains equal to and larger than 2 cm will systematically be plotted using a Total Station. Photogrammetry will be performed.
2. Drone footage
We will use a drone (Mavic 2 Pro) to get more and better footage which should allow us to create a topographic model of the area around the site. We got the official permission by the military base to fly the drone in the area.
3. Sampling
The fieldwork will entail various types of sampling. The first type will include micromorphological blocks that will serve to produce thin sections of specific parts of the deposits, and sediment samples. Their analyses will provide information regarding to the composition of the different stratigraphic units, taphonomic processes, the nature of the contact between layers, and ultimately the formation history of the site.
Sampling will be conducted to collect potential microscopic palaeoenvironmental proxies in the form of phytoliths, charcoals, and biomarkers. Sediment samples, from particular layers and generally from features, will be collected to this end, followed by analytical work in the lab.
Furthermore, we will take samples for sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) to firstly test for preservation and secondly to extract genetic data on the humans and animals who inhabited Rose Cottage Cave.
We additionally plan to take small sediment samples to detect possible residues within the different layers. Previous studies by Gibson and colleagues (2004) have shown that residues preserve at Rose Cottage Cave. However, their functional interpretations can be considered unreliable in the light of subsequent methodological developments. Since these first analyses were carried out, progress has been made in identifying the nature of residues and their cause of deposition more accurately, partly by contrasting residue observations with use-wear evidence. One of the most critical steps in residue analysis is a taphonomic assessment that establishes the range of environmental residues, i.e., non-functional residues that are deposited on artefacts through contact with the sediment, at the site. This work makes use of soil samples taken from archaeological layers containing stone tools and helps achieve a critical evaluation of the effect of the burial context on residue preservation. This analysis will be informed by the data obtained on the micromorphology, phytolith, and sedimentary DNA samples.
Finally, we will collect samples for dating from the profile and secure stratigraphic contexts. This will add to the corpus of dates and will help solve issues of discrepancy as well as clarify the ages of the lower stratigraphic units. Sediment samples will be taken for OSL dating. We will take minimum two OSL in the post-HP layers and put dosimeters in the profiles for several months to measure the background radiation. We will collect the three dosimeters from the West profile of the Harper Trench that we inserted in the field campaign of 2023.
4. Educational aspect
Prof. Lyn Wadley invested heavily in her research programme, and it was a matter close to her heart that Rose Cottage Cave served as training ground for future archaeologists. Not only had students the chance to develop and improve their excavation, recording, and curation skills, but they also were given the opportunity to conduct primary research (Lyn Wadley 1997). We plan to carry on Prof. Wadley’s wonderful legacy by including undergraduate and postgraduate students from southern African and European universities. Our aim is to prepare the substrate for them to gain excavation experience and to provide them opportunities to become further involved in the project by tackling their own research questions.
5. Raw material survey
During and after the excavation, we will conduct surveys in the surroundings of the site to localise possible sources of lithic and ochre that were accessed and exploited by past people. We will describe the outcrops, take photos, and record GPS coordinates. Petrographic analyses will be performed and serve to support the lithic technological, techno-economic, and functional studies that are currently being carried out on the material from the Wadley and Harper excavation and that have been planned for the near future.
Please find more information in the more detailed application document attached.
We will work in the eastern Free State at Rose Cottage Cave.