South African family history, genealogy, heritage and interesting places, past and present. All articles researched and written by Anne Lehmkuhl. COPYRIGHT ANNE LEHMKUHL, no article can be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission. EMAIL ME
17th century find on top of Stone Age find
Mark Solms, professor of neuroscience at the University of Cape Town, found an archaeological treasure buried under the driveway of his Franschhoek farm. Soon, a team of archaeologists had turned the manicured garden and most of the driveway of the Cape wine farm into an excavation site. They are uncovering the remains of a three-roomed house dating back to the late 17th century, which was built on top of a 6000-year-old late Stone Age settlement. Professor Solms had found blue-and-white Dutch porcelain shards in his front yard. He uncovered more blue-and-white Delft pottery and, when he uncovered the corner of the house, he called in the archaeologists, who had missed the find on an earlier dig. Among the neatly packed stones of the 300-year-old foundation wall, archaeologists found the remains of a late Stone Age settlement, the first to be excavated in the Boland. The farm’s first transfer deed was drawn up in 1693 and according to that, its first owner was Dutch settler Hans Silberbach, who was married to a freed slave, Ansela van de Caab.