3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Spatial information technology and heritage management in the southern Gauteng province, South Africa(2020) Mudzamatira, WitnessDevelopment is one of the major factors that destroys heritage sites in Africa. The destruction of heritage, such as pre-colonial stone walled structures (SWS), has often gone unnoticed due to the lack of technologies to help researchers fully understand the nature of the damage. The use of spatial information technologies in recent years has made it possible for researchers to account for the effects of developmental damage on heritage structures such as SWS. These technologies also assist in planning the future conservation of heritage. SWS are part of the pre-colonial history of southern Africa. Effective conservation of SWS arises from a comprehensive understanding of the causes of destruction and devising strategies that eliminate and reduce the risk of developmental damage. Here, spatial information technologies present useful tools that improve the understanding of the impact of development on heritage sites. Understanding this impact will improve heritage legislation, policy and conservation in South African. Firstly, the study used Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to test the effectiveness of Cultural Resources Management (CRM). The study revealed evidence for lack of proper CRM. Secondly, the study used interviews to assess awareness about SWS and their destruction. The general public expressed their lack of awareness, while the custodial communities revealed their knowledge of SWS and their disgruntlements over their exclusion from the management of this heritage. Thirdly, the study looked for strategies to improve heritage awareness in the area. Educational strategies, social media, Google Maps, 3D technologies among others were suggested to improve awareness.Item The Southward spread of Johannesburg and its impact on precolonial stone walled structures(2018) Naidu, Saireeni LatishaThere are thousands of Stone Walled Structures (SWS) located in the southern half of the Gauteng Province. In the absence of relevant historical documents, these SWS are all the information we have about how pre-colonial societies were organized in this area. Unfortunately, they are threatened by rapid urbanization and development. This research attempts to estimate how many Iron Age SWS have been lost to urban development in Johannesburg South during the last 80 years. I mapped and quantified the SWS and urbanization in four chronological snapshots using remote sensing techniques. Aerial photographs from 1937 and 1961 were used as well as Google Earth satellite images from 2005 and 2015. The data was analyzed on the ESRI software ArcGIS 10.3. The four snapshots show the trend in urban sprawl and destruction of SWS and this information is valuable for mitigation strategies. Fortunately, there are legislations and procedures in place to ensure that not all these sites are lost forever.