Ngwenya Mine
Ngwenya Mine is a former mine in Eswatini . It is considered to be one of the oldest known mines in the world. The mine was of Swaziland on its 2008 list of suggestions for the UNESCO World Heritage set.
location
The mine is located on the Bomvu Ridge in the Ngwenya Mountains on the northwestern border of Eswatini near the town of Ngwenya about 20 km northwest of the capital Mbabane .
history
Three periods can be distinguished in the use of the mine.
As early as the Stone Age , the hematite deposit was used to extract red ocher , which is used as a dye for cosmetic purposes , e.g. B. for body painting , and was used for rock painting . The oldest finds from the mine, dated using the radiocarbon method, are approximately 43,000 BC. BC, but the mine may also have been used for a longer time.
Around AD 400, Bantu groups who were familiar with iron processing came to the area . They mined the iron ore for smelting and export.
From 1964 to 1977 the iron ore was mined in open-cast mining. In addition, the mine was connected to the railway network and the power grid. The pit called Lions Cave with the stepped slopes, in which a lake has now formed, was created by the opencast mining .
World Heritage candidate
Swaziland ratified the World Heritage Convention in 2005. In 2008, the Ngwenya mine was entered on Eswatini's tentative list, and so far (as of 2020) it is the only proposal by Eswatini on this list.
In order to justify the outstanding universal meaning, among other things, the following is given:
This mine is known as one of the oldest mines in the world ... This mine is not only important to the Swazi, it also contains the history of the early industrial development of the South African region. Iron ore was mined and shipped to other parts of the region. This iron ore mining eventually led to the gradual change of tools in the region from stone tools to iron tools.
The aim is to be entered in the World Heritage List based on the World Heritage criterion (iii):
(iii): The mining technology from 43000 BC BC is representative of a period in the development of old traditional industries in southern Africa. This is demonstrated in these mines, where it begins the mining of cosmetics (red ocher and specularite).
tourism
There is a visitor center for visitors to the mine, from which guided tours start. The mine can only be visited as part of such tours. A mining museum has history information and displays some historical mining tools.
Web links
- Ngwenya Mine on the UNESCO World Heritage Center website for tentative lists.
- Ngwenya Mine / Lion Cavern on The Kingdom of Eswatini - a royal experience (official Eswatini tourism website, English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Ngwenya Mine. In: whc.unesco.org. UNESCO World Heritage Center, accessed March 23, 2018 .
- ^ Tentative Lists. Eswatini. In: whc.unesco.org. UNESCO World Heritage Center, accessed July 26, 2020 .
Coordinates: 26 ° 11 ′ 52 ″ S , 31 ° 1 ′ 53 ″ E