The Magaliesberg Heritage Map (MHM) catapults Magaliesberg heritage into the 21st century through an online interactive map and portal that brings the locations and stories of key heritage sites of the Cradle- Magaliesberg region onto a common platform, improving access to heritage information by the public and preserving it for future generations, which supports independent and institutional education and research.
Unparalleled in its richness of heritage the Magaliesberg Biosphere Region encapsulates human evolution and many aspects of South African history that spans geological, palaeontological, archaeological, and modern timeframes.
The relevance of heritage in the Magaliesberg region is highlighted by the fact that it is home to two internationally recognised UNESCO sites, The Magaliesberg Biosphere Reserve and The Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site, that stretch across two provinces, North-West and Gauteng.
The region’s ancient and unique human history encompasses a 2-million-year timeline from early hominids through Stone and Iron-Age cultures, pre-colonial Tswana tradition and the South African Wars.
While much has been written on various aspects of this rich and diverse heritage, this information is spread across many different channels and archives. Through the support of the National Heritage Council (NHC) the Magaliesberg Biosphere NPC, and partners Magaliesberg Association of Culture and Heritage (MACH) and SatPlan Alpha, have embarked on an exciting project to catalogue and consolidate this knowledge under several heritage themes.
The project supports the strategic objectives of both Magaliesberg Biosphere NPC and MACH in terms of encouraging research, awareness, and dialogue of Magaliesberg heritage, while preserving existing vulnerable data and providing a platform to effectively archive, visualize, update, and disseminate heritage data of the Magaliesberg region that has been compiled by MACH.
The user-friendly and engaging MHM is nearing completion and will be hosted on the Magaliesberg Biosphere website…. Watch this space
