The Museum archive consists of research publications, unpublished material such as theses, reports and other documents, photographs, negatives, slides, maps, manuscripts, commercial publications, newspaper clippings, audio-visual material, drawings, site plans, excavation and site reports, and correspondence including all other material with a bearing on the relevance of Mapungubwe and the University of Pretoria. The archives serves as a depository to identify, collect and preserve records of archival value relating to the history of Mapungubwe and research by the University and aims to make such records and documents available for academic research and for use by interested members of the public. There are more than 3 500 documents consisting of approximately 20 000 pages relating to the history, excavations and findings of the Mapungubwe and K2 sites. These range from field notes and correspondence between the various archaeologists involved, to articles from local and international publications. The documents in question also cover the entire history of archaeological work at Mapungubwe from 1933 to the present. The archive thus chronicles the history of excavations at Mapungubwe, the University of Pretoria’s involvement and all the research, theorizing and policy making which followed. It is precisely this which makes the archive such a valuable research tool. The documents serve as an illustration of Mapungubwe’s history as it is reflected in the original field notes, field reports, letters, correspondence and maps by the first pioneers so that researchers today have access to the primary sources. The photographic collection is the best resource available thus far to source a wide selection of images of Mapungubwe. There are various types of photographs such as black and white, colour prints, digital images, film negatives, glass plate negatives, over 2800 slides and some historical photo albums. The photographic material includes aerial photographs as well as photographs of the artefacts, all the excavations sites such as Bambandyanalo, K2, Southern Terrace and Mapungubwe Hill, excavation details, archaeological features, landscape images, maps, some other related archaeological sites and a few rock art images. This photograph collection is a unique primary resource of information illustrating the history of Mapungubwe through the camera lens. During the past few years, the Museum has also acquired some other valuable minor collections such as the Dr JB de Vaal metal and trade bead collection, archaeological samples from other sites in the Limpopo Valley, gold bead samples from Great Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe), Chibuene (Mozambique), Tshipise (Limpopo) and individual donations from the private collection of the late Dr Marc Smalle, among others.
The Museum archive consists of research publications, unpublished material such as theses, reports and other documents, photographs, negatives, slides, maps, manuscripts, commercial publications, newspaper clippings, audio-visual material, drawings, site plans, excavation and site reports, and correspondence including all other material with a bearing on the relevance of Mapungubwe and the University of Pretoria. The archives serves as a depository to identify, collect and preserve records of archival value relating to the history of Mapungubwe and research by the University and aims to make such records and documents available for academic research and for use by interested members of the public. There are more than 3 500 documents consisting of approximately 20 000 pages relating to the history, excavations and findings of the Mapungubwe and K2 sites. These range from field notes and correspondence between the various archaeologists involved, to articles from local and international publications. The documents in question also cover the entire history of archaeological work at Mapungubwe from 1933 to the present. The archive thus chronicles the history of excavations at Mapungubwe, the University of Pretoria’s involvement and all the research, theorizing and policy making which followed. It is precisely this which makes the archive such a valuable research tool. The documents serve as an illustration of Mapungubwe’s history as it is reflected in the original field notes, field reports, letters, correspondence and maps by the first pioneers so that researchers today have access to the primary sources. The photographic collection is the best resource available thus far to source a wide selection of images of Mapungubwe. There are various types of photographs such as black and white, colour prints, digital images, film negatives, glass plate negatives, over 2800 slides and some historical photo albums. The photographic material includes aerial photographs as well as photographs of the artefacts, all the excavations sites such as Bambandyanalo, K2, Southern Terrace and Mapungubwe Hill, excavation details, archaeological features, landscape images, maps, some other related archaeological sites and a few rock art images. This photograph collection is a unique primary resource of information illustrating the history of Mapungubwe through the camera lens. During the past few years, the Museum has also acquired some other valuable minor collections such as the Dr JB de Vaal metal and trade bead collection, archaeological samples from other sites in the Limpopo Valley, gold bead samples from Great Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe), Chibuene (Mozambique), Tshipise (Limpopo) and individual donations from the private collection of the late Dr Marc Smalle, among others.
Last edited by: Johnnie Heinemann