UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA
College of Human Sciences
⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄⋄
AGE2601: Archaeological Fieldwork
Methods and Laboratory Techniques
Assessment 5 | 2026
⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄⋄
AGE2601
Module Code:
Archaeological Fieldwork Methods and
Module Name:
Laboratory Techniques
Archaeological Fieldwork Portfolio
Assessment Title:
5
Assessment Number:
28 October 2026, 23:00
Due Date:
60
Total Marks:
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for AGE2601, UNISA 2026
, UNISA | AGE2601 Assessment 5: Fieldwork Portfolio
Activity One: Planning a Survey
1.1 Survey Briefing for the Crew
The survey area is the grid in Figure 2.2 (columns A to F and rows 1 to 6, each square roughly
2 by 2 km), so a day of at least seven hours on foot will take the crew across several of the
known sites in Figure 2.5, including Elands Bay Cave, Spring Cave, Pancho’s Kitchen Midden
and Dunefield Midden, and across several kilometres of ground. Pedestrian survey depends
on walking in parallel lines at an even interval while scanning the surface for artefacts, shell
scatters and features (UNISA, 2018:32–61), so every student must stay in line and keep con-
centrating when the terrain changes. The terrain does change sharply. The profile in Figure
2.3 shows the route over Baboon Point climbing from sea level to about 150 m, with a rocky
escarpment where the slope reaches roughly 26.5 per cent, while Figure 2.4 shows a longer
and much gentler rise of about 5 km across pale, loose dune sand where the average gradient
is only a few per cent but the sand makes every step tiring. Between these lie the soft, reedy
margins of the Verlorenvlei estuary, and to the north the circular irrigated fields of working
farms, which means the team must stay on agreed tracks, use gates, and have landowner per-
mission before the day starts. The photographs in Addendum A show that midden surfaces
sit among low, dense strandveld shrubs, a vegetation type found in surviving pockets around
Verlorenvlei (BirdLife South Africa, n.d.); the shrubs scratch legs, hide snakes and break up vis-
ibility, so surface scatters can only be seen at close range. Students must therefore wear long
trousers, a long-sleeved cotton shirt, thick socks and sturdy closed boots with ankle support, a
wide-brimmed hat, sunglasses and sunscreen, and must carry a windproof jacket because the
Atlantic wind chills quickly even when midday is hot. Each person should carry at least three
litres of water, a packed lunch and snacks, a personal first-aid kit, and a charged phone, and
the team needs a GPS unit, compass, printed copies of Figures 2.2 to 2.5, pin flags, labelled
find bags, a field notebook and pencil, a scale and camera, and a snakebite and emergency plan
with a named contact. Finds are recorded and photographed in place, and nothing is collected
without authorisation, because archaeological material is protected by section 35 of the Na-
tional Heritage Resources Act 25 of 1999 (UNISA, 2018:32–61). The crew should start early,
work in pairs, rest every ninety minutes, and report to the team leader at set times.
Page 2 of 13
College of Human Sciences
⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄⋄
AGE2601: Archaeological Fieldwork
Methods and Laboratory Techniques
Assessment 5 | 2026
⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄⋄
AGE2601
Module Code:
Archaeological Fieldwork Methods and
Module Name:
Laboratory Techniques
Archaeological Fieldwork Portfolio
Assessment Title:
5
Assessment Number:
28 October 2026, 23:00
Due Date:
60
Total Marks:
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for AGE2601, UNISA 2026
, UNISA | AGE2601 Assessment 5: Fieldwork Portfolio
Activity One: Planning a Survey
1.1 Survey Briefing for the Crew
The survey area is the grid in Figure 2.2 (columns A to F and rows 1 to 6, each square roughly
2 by 2 km), so a day of at least seven hours on foot will take the crew across several of the
known sites in Figure 2.5, including Elands Bay Cave, Spring Cave, Pancho’s Kitchen Midden
and Dunefield Midden, and across several kilometres of ground. Pedestrian survey depends
on walking in parallel lines at an even interval while scanning the surface for artefacts, shell
scatters and features (UNISA, 2018:32–61), so every student must stay in line and keep con-
centrating when the terrain changes. The terrain does change sharply. The profile in Figure
2.3 shows the route over Baboon Point climbing from sea level to about 150 m, with a rocky
escarpment where the slope reaches roughly 26.5 per cent, while Figure 2.4 shows a longer
and much gentler rise of about 5 km across pale, loose dune sand where the average gradient
is only a few per cent but the sand makes every step tiring. Between these lie the soft, reedy
margins of the Verlorenvlei estuary, and to the north the circular irrigated fields of working
farms, which means the team must stay on agreed tracks, use gates, and have landowner per-
mission before the day starts. The photographs in Addendum A show that midden surfaces
sit among low, dense strandveld shrubs, a vegetation type found in surviving pockets around
Verlorenvlei (BirdLife South Africa, n.d.); the shrubs scratch legs, hide snakes and break up vis-
ibility, so surface scatters can only be seen at close range. Students must therefore wear long
trousers, a long-sleeved cotton shirt, thick socks and sturdy closed boots with ankle support, a
wide-brimmed hat, sunglasses and sunscreen, and must carry a windproof jacket because the
Atlantic wind chills quickly even when midday is hot. Each person should carry at least three
litres of water, a packed lunch and snacks, a personal first-aid kit, and a charged phone, and
the team needs a GPS unit, compass, printed copies of Figures 2.2 to 2.5, pin flags, labelled
find bags, a field notebook and pencil, a scale and camera, and a snakebite and emergency plan
with a named contact. Finds are recorded and photographed in place, and nothing is collected
without authorisation, because archaeological material is protected by section 35 of the Na-
tional Heritage Resources Act 25 of 1999 (UNISA, 2018:32–61). The crew should start early,
work in pairs, rest every ninety minutes, and report to the team leader at set times.
Page 2 of 13
