57-503: The Waterberg ( Northern Sotho : Thaba Meetse ) is a mountainous massif of approximately 654,033 hectare in north Limpopo Province , South Africa . The average height of the mountain range is 600 m with a few peaks rising up to 2,000 m above sea level. Vaalwater town is located just north of the mountain range. The extensive rock formation was shaped by hundreds of millions of years of riverine erosion to yield diverse bluff and butte landform . The ecosystem can be characterised as
114-588: A dry deciduous forest or Bushveld . Within the Waterberg there are archaeological finds dating to the Stone Age , and nearby are early evolutionary finds related to the origin of humans . Waterberg ( Thaba Meetse ) is the first region in the northern part of South Africa to be named as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO . The underlying rock formation derives from the Kaapvaal Craton , formed as
171-522: A base of double-wall construction or larger boulders with single-wall construction above. They appear to be rickety, with many holes, which deters livestock (and people) from attempting to cross them. These dykes are principally found in locations with exceptionally high winds, where a solid wall might be at risk of being unsettled by the buffeting. The porous nature of the wall significantly reduces wind force but takes greater skill to construct. They are also found in grazing areas where they are used to maximize
228-460: A combination of immigrants from the north of South Africa and Sotho inhabitants of longer standing. Like other Sotho-Tswana people, their languages are named after totemic animals and, sometimes, by alternating or combining these with the names of famous chiefs. The group consists of the following dialects: The group consists of Lobedu , Narene, Phalaborwa (Malatji), Mogoboya, Kone, Kgaga, Pulana , Pai, Ramafalo, Mohale and Kutswe. Northern Sotho
285-753: A derivative of Tswana ), have acquired clicks in an ongoing process of such sounds spreading from Nguni languages . Some examples of Northern Sotho words and phrases: amogela ( tshelete/.../...)? Universal Declaration of Human Rights Temana 1 Batho ka moka ba belegwe ba lokologile le gona ba na le seriti sa go lekana le ditokelo. Ba filwe monagano le letswalo mme ba swanetše go swarana ka moya wa bana ba mpa. Temana 2 Mang le mang o swanetše ke ditokelo le ditokologo ka moka tše go boletšwego ka tšona ka mo Boikanong bjo, ntle le kgethollo ya mohuta wo mongwe le wo mongwe bjalo ka morafe, mmala, bong, polelo, bodumedi, dipolitiki goba ka kgopolo, botšo go ya ka setšhaba goba maemo, diphahlo, matswalo goba maemo
342-797: A dry deciduous forest; according to Hogan: "These sub-habitats include high plateau savanna , specialized shaded cliff vegetation system and riparian zone habitat with associated marshes ". The savanna consists of rolling grasslands and a semi- deciduous forest , with trees such as mountain syringa , silver cluster-leaf and lavender tree . The canopy is mostly leafless during the dry winter. Native grasses include signal grass , goose grass and heather-topped grass . Indigenous grasses provide graze to support native species including impala , kudu , klipspringer and blue wildebeest . Some Pachypodium habitats are found especially in isolated kopje formations. Other indigenous mammals include giraffe , white rhinoceros and warthog . Snakes include
399-414: A great many are still in use and maintained. New ones are often built in gardens and nature conservation areas. Dry stone retaining structures continue to be a subject of research. In northeastern Somalia , on the coastal plain 20 km (12 mi) to Aluula 's east are found ruins of an ancient monument in a platform style. The structure is formed by a rectangular dry stone wall that is low in height;
456-491: A mangwe le a mangwe. Go feta fao, ga go kgethollo yeo e swanetšego go dirwa go ya ka maemo a dipolitiki, tokelo ya boahlodi, goba maemo a ditšhabatšhaba goba lefelo leo motho a dulago go lona, goba ke naga ye e ipušago, trasete, naga ya go se ipuše goba se sengwe le se sengwe seo se ka fokotšago maemo a go ikemela ga naga ya gabo. Dry-stone Dry stone , sometimes called drystack or, in Scotland, drystane ,
513-484: A precursor island roughly 2.7 billion years ago. This crustal formation became the base of the Waterberg, which was further transformed by upward extrusion of igneous rocks. These extruded rocks, containing minerals such as vanadium and platinum , are called the Bushveld Igneous Complex . The original extent of this rock upthrust involved about 250,000 square kilometres, and is sometimes called
570-444: A type of single wall in which the wall consists primarily of large boulders, around which smaller stones are placed. Single walls work best with large, flatter stones. Ideally, the largest stones are being placed at the bottom and the whole wall tapers toward the top. Sometimes a row of capstones completes the top of a wall, with the long rectangular side of each capstone perpendicular to the wall alignment. Galloway dykes consist of
627-664: Is Daorson , in Bosnia , built around a prehistoric central fortified settlement or acropolis (existed there c. 17–16th C. BCE to the end of the Bronze Age , c. 9–8th C. BCE), and surrounded by cyclopean walls (similar to Mycenae ) dated to the 4th C. BCE. In Belize , the Mayan ruins at Lubaantun illustrate use of dry stone construction in architecture of the 8th and 9th centuries AD. Great Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe , Africa,
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#1732766232124684-491: Is a building method by which structures are constructed from stones without any mortar to bind them together. A certain amount of binding is obtained through the use of carefully selected interlocking stones. Dry stone construction is best known in the context of stone walls , traditionally used for the boundaries of fields and churchyards , or as retaining walls for terracing, but dry stone shelters, houses and other structures also exist. The term tends not to be used for
741-405: Is almost always used. One type of wall is called a "double" wall and is constructed by placing two rows of stones along the boundary to be walled. The foundation stones are ideally set into the ground so as to rest firmly on the subsoil . The rows are composed of large flattish stones, diminishing in size as the wall rises. Smaller stones may be used as chocks in areas where the natural stone shape
798-589: Is an acropolis-like large city complex constructed in dry stone from the 11th to the 15th centuries AD. It is the largest of structures of similar construction throughout the area. Terminology varies regionally. When used as field boundaries, dry stone structures are more commonly known as dykes in Scotland , where professional dry stone wall builders are referred to as 'dykers'. Dry stone walls are characteristic of upland areas of Britain and Ireland where rock outcrops naturally or large stones exist in quantity in
855-527: Is more rounded. The walls are built up to the desired height layer-by-layer ( course by course ) and, at intervals, large tie-stones or through stones are placed which span both faces of the wall and sometimes project. These have the effect of bonding what would otherwise be two thin walls leaning against each other, greatly increasing the strength of the wall. Diminishing the width of the wall as it gets higher, as traditionally done in Britain, also strengthens
912-421: Is mostly used in language reference books. Some word prefixes, especially in verbs, are written separately from the stem. Within nasal consonant compounds, the first nasal consonant sound is recognized as syllabic. Words such as nthuše "help me", are pronounced as [n̩tʰuʃe] . /n/ can also be pronounced as /ŋ/ following a velar consonant. Urban varieties of Northern Sotho, such as Pretoria Sotho (actually
969-545: Is offset by their sturdiness and consequent long, low-maintenance lifetimes. As a result of the increasing appreciation of the landscape and heritage value of dry stone walls, wallers remain in demand, as do the walls themselves. A nationally recognised certification scheme is operated in the UK by the Dry Stone Walling Association, with four grades from Initial to Master Craftsman. Notable examples include
1026-513: Is one of the Sotho languages of the Bantu family. Although Northern Sotho shares the name Sotho with Southern Sotho , the two groups also have a great deal in common with their sister language Setswana. Northern Sotho is also closely related to Setswana , sheKgalagari and siLozi . It is a standardized dialect, amalgamating several distinct varieties or dialects. Northern Sotho is also spoken by
1083-655: Is the largest private game reserve in the Waterberg and the Limpopo province. Northern Sotho language Sesotho sa Leboa is a Sotho-Tswana language group spoken in the northeastern provinces of South Africa , most commonly in Mpumalanga , Gauteng and the Limpopo provinces. It is also known by Pedi or Sepedi and holds the status of an official language in South Africa . An official language for
1140-688: The Balobedu . Sepulana ( also sePulane ) exists in unwritten form and forms part of the standard Northern Sotho. Sepulana is spoken in Bushbuckridge area by the MaPulana people. Sepedi is written in the Latin alphabet. The letter š is used to represent the sound [ ʃ ] ("sh" is used in the trigraph "tsh" to represent an aspirated ts sound). The circumflex accent can be added to the letters e and o to distinguish their different sounds, but it
1197-679: The Lebowa homeland during apartheid , it is the first language of over 4.6 million (9.1%) people according to the South African National Census of 2011 , making it the 5th most spoken language in South Africa. According to Chapter 1, Section 6 of the South African Constitution, Sepedi is one of South Africa's 12 official languages. There has been significant debate about whether Northern Sotho should be used instead of Pedi. The English version of
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#17327662321241254-637: The Liburnian era. Notable examples include the island of Baljenac, which has 23 kilometres (14 mi) of dry stone walls despite being only 14 hectares (35 acres) in area, and the vineyards of Primošten . In Peru in the 15th century AD, the Inca made use of otherwise unusable slopes by building dry stone walls to create terraces . They also employed this mode of construction for freestanding walls. Their ashlar type construction in Machu Picchu uses
1311-544: The Limpopo River which flows easterly to discharge into the Indian Ocean . The river bushwillow is a riparian tree in this habitat. These riparian zones offer habitat for birds, reptiles and mammals that require more water than plateau species. The riverine areas are inhabited by the apex predator Nile crocodile and the hippopotamus . These wet habitats have reduced numbers of water-living insects, and
1368-773: The Mourne Wall , a 22-mile (35 km) wall in the Mourne Mountains in County Down , Northern Ireland , and the wall around the Ottenby nature reserve, built by Charles X Gustav in the mid-17th century in Öland , Sweden. While the dry stone technique is most commonly used for the construction of double-wall stone walls and single-wall retaining terracing, dry stone sculptures, buildings, fortifications, bridges, and other structures also exist. Traditional turf-roofed Highland blackhouses were constructed using
1425-568: The Neolithic Age. In County Mayo , Ireland, an entire field system made from dry stone walls, since covered in peat, has been carbon-dated to 3800 BC. These are near contemporary with the, dry stone constructed, neolithic village of Skara Brae , and the Chambered cairn of Scotland . The cyclopean walls of the acropolis of Mycenae , Greece, have been dated to 1350 BC and those of Tiryns slightly earlier. Similar example
1482-607: The United States they are common in areas with rocky soils, such as New England , New York , New Jersey , and Pennsylvania . They are a notable characteristic of the bluegrass region of central Kentucky , the Ozarks of Arkansas and Missouri , as well as Virginia , where they are usually referred to as rock fences or stone fences , and the Napa Valley in north central California . The technique of construction
1539-431: The black mamba and spitting cobra . In 1905 Eugene Marais studied these snakes of the Waterberg. Some birds seen are the black-headed oriole and the white-backed vulture . Predators include the leopard , hyena and lion . Vegetative cliff habitats are abundant in the Waterberg due to the extensive historic riverine erosion . The African porcupine uses the protection of these cliffside caves. Some trees cling to
1596-578: The tsetse fly . The ensuing epidemic of sleeping sickness depopulated the plains, but at higher elevations man survived, because the fly cannot survive above 600 meters. Later people left the first Stone Age artefacts recovered in northern South Africa . Starting about the year 1300 AD, Nguni settlers arrived with new technologies, including the ability to build dry-stone walls, which techniques were then used to add defensive works to their Iron Age forts, some of which walls survive to today. Archaeologists continue to excavate Waterberg to shed light on
1653-631: The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. [1] The Northern Sotho written language was based largely on the Sepedi dialect. Missionaries studied this dialect the most closely and first developed the orthography in 1860 by Alexander Merensky , Grutzner, and Gerlachshoop. This subsequently provided a common writing system for 20 or more varieties of the Sotho-Tswana languages spoken in
1710-738: The Mohlala people. Most Khelobedu speakers only learn to speak Sepedi at school, such that Sepedi is only their second or third language. Khelobedu is a written language. Lobedu is spoken by a majority of people in the Greater Tzaneen, Greater Letaba, and BaPhalaborwa municipalities, and a minority in Greater Giyani municipality, as well as in the Limpopo Province and Tembisa township in Gauteng . Its speakers are known as
1767-506: The Nguni culture and the associated dry-stone architecture. The first white settlers arrived in Waterberg in 1808 and the first naturalist a Swede appeared just before mid 19th century. Around the mid 19th century, a group of Afrikaner travellers set out from Cape Town in search of Jerusalem . Arriving in Waterberg, they mis-estimated their distance and thought they had reached Egypt . After battles between Boer settlers and tribesmen,
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1824-443: The South African Constitution lists Sepedi as an official language, while the Sepedi or Northern Sotho version of the Constitution of South Africa lists Sesotho sa Lebowa as an official South African language. South Africa's English Language policy refers to the eleven official languages of South Africa (i.e., Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, siSwati, Tshivenda, Xitsonga, Afrikaans, isiNdebele, isiXhosa, isiZulu and English), as specified in
1881-546: The Waterberg Supergroup . Sedimentary deposition from rivers cutting through Waterberg endured until roughly 1.5 billion years ago. In more recent time (around 250 million years ago) the Kaapvaal craton collided with the supercontinent Gondwana , and split Gondwana into its modern-day continents. Waterberg today contains mesas , buttes and some kopje outcrops. Some of cliffs stand up to 550 meters above
1938-551: The Waterberg is thus considered an almost malaria -free region. As of 2006 about 80,000 people lived on the Waterberg plateau, which is part of the Bushveld district of Limpopo Province of South Africa. After cattle grazing wrought ecological havoc in the mid 1900s, the land owners of the region became aware of the benefits of restoring habitat to attract and protect the original species of antelope, white rhino , giraffe , hippopotami , and other species whose numbers dropped in
1995-413: The base width. Different regions have made minor modifications to the general method of construction—sometimes because of limitations of building material available, but also to create a look that is distinctive for that area. Whichever method is used to build a dry stone wall, considerable skill is required. Correcting any mistakes invariably means disassembling down to the level of the error. Selection of
2052-424: The classic Inca architectural style of polished dry stone walls of regular shape. The Incas were masters of this technique, in which blocks of stone are cut to fit together tightly without mortar. Many junctions are so perfect that not even a knife fits between the stones. The structures have persisted in the high earthquake region because of the flexibility of the walls, and because in their double wall architecture,
2109-575: The cliff areas, including the paperbark false-thorn , that have flaking bark hanging from their thick trunks. Another tree in this habitat is the fever tree , thought by Bushmen to have special power to allow communication with the dead. It is found on cliffs above the Palala River including one site used for prehistoric ceremonies, which is also a location of some intact rock paintings. Riparian zones are associated with various rivers that cut through Waterberg. These surface waters all drain to
2166-501: The coping stones on a final layer of flat stones slightly wider than the top of the wall proper ( coverbands ). In addition to gates, a wall may contain smaller purposely built gaps for the passage or control of wildlife and livestock such as sheep. The smaller holes usually no more than 200 millimetres (8 in) in height are called "Bolt Holes" or "Smoots". Larger ones may be between 450 and 600 mm (18 and 24 in) in height, which are called "Cripple Holes". Boulder walls are
2223-423: The correct stone for every position in the wall makes an enormous difference to the lifetime of the finished product, and a skilled waller will take time making the selection. As with many older crafts, skilled wallers, today, are few in number. With the advent of modern wire fencing, fields can be fenced with much less time and expense using wire than using stone walls; however, the initial expense of building dykes
2280-472: The double-wall dry stone method. When buildings are constructed using this method, the middle of the wall is generally filled with earth or sand in order to eliminate draughts. During the Iron Age, and perhaps earlier, the technique also was used to build fortifications such as the walls of Eketorp Castle ( Öland , Sweden ), Maiden Castle, North Yorkshire , Reeth , Dunlough Castle in southwest Ireland and
2337-526: The era of intense cattle grazing. The rise in eco-tourism has stimulated interest in soil conservation practices to restore original grass species to the Waterberg. The land management practises required are expensive, but repay the landowner with added value in wildlife habitat. There is also a trend for larger farms and open space areas with the resultant advantage of fence removal. This outcome not only benefits large mammal migration, but yields an improved gene pool . [1] The Waterberg Biosphere Reserve
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2394-467: The former Transvaal, and also helped lead to "Sepedi" being used as the umbrella term for the entire language family. However, there are objections to this synecdoche by other Northern Sotho dialect speakers, such as speakers of Modjadji's Lobedu dialect. Northern Sotho can be subdivided into Highveld -Sotho, which consists of comparatively recent immigrants mostly from the west and southwest parts of South Africa, and Lowveld -Sotho, which consists of
2451-477: The higher areas of the Waterberg for summer (December to March) game". Bushmen entered Waterberg around two thousand years ago. They produced rock paintings at Lapalala within the Waterberg, including depictions of rhinoceros and antelope . Early Iron Age settlers in Waterberg were Bantu , who had brought cattle to the region. The Bantu created a problem in Waterberg, since cattle reduced grassland caused invasion of brush species leading to an outbreak of
2508-584: The many historic styles which used precisely-shaped stone, but did not use mortar, for example the Greek temple and Inca architecture . The art of dry stone walling was inscribed in 2018 on the UNESCO representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity , for dry stone walls in countries such as France , Greece , Italy , Slovenia , Croatia , Switzerland and Spain . Some dry stone wall constructions in north-west Europe have been dated back to
2565-444: The mountain river of Vydra) are often lined by dry stone walls built of field-stones removed from the arable or cultural land. They serve both as cattle/sheep fences and the lot's borders. Sometimes also the dry stone terracing is apparent, often combined with parts of stone masonry (house foundations and shed walls) that are held together by a clay and pine needle "composite" mortar . The dry stone walling tradition of Croatia
2622-620: The plains, with exposed multi-coloured sandstone. The sandstone formations could retain groundwater sufficient to make a suitable environment for primitive man. The cliff overhangs offered natural shelters for these early humans. The first human ancestors may have been at Waterberg as early as three million years ago, since Makapansgat , 40 kilometres distant, has yielded skeletons of Australopithecus africanus . Hogan suggests that Homo erectus , whose evidence remains were also discovered in Makapansgat , "may have purposefully moved into
2679-474: The races co-existed until around 1900. The Boers brought further cattle grazing , multiplying the impacts of indigenous tribes. By the beginning of the 20th century there were an estimated 200 western inhabitants of the Waterberg, and grassland loss began to have a severe impact upon native wildlife populations. There are several sub-habitats within the Waterberg Biosphere, which is fundamentally
2736-493: The rampart of the Long Scar Dyke. Many of the dry-stone walls that exist today in Scotland can be dated to the 14th century or earlier when they were built to divide fields and retain livestock. Some extremely well built examples are found on the lands of Muchalls Castle . Dry stone walls can be built against embankments or even vertical terraces. If they are subjected to lateral earth pressure, they are retaining walls of
2793-649: The soil. They are especially abundant in the West of Ireland, particularly Connemara . They may also be found throughout the Mediterranean , including retaining walls used for terracing. Such constructions are common where large stones are plentiful (for example, in The Burren ) or conditions are too harsh for hedges capable of retaining livestock to be grown as reliable field boundaries. Many thousands of kilometres of such walls exist, most of them centuries old. In
2850-456: The space in between is filled with rubble and manually covered with small stones. Relatively large standing stones are also positioned on the edifice's corners. Near the platform are graves, which are outlined in stones. Measuring 24 by 17 m (79 by 56 ft), the structure is the largest of a string of ancient platform and enclosed platform monuments exclusive to far northeastern Somalia. In Great Britain, Ireland, France and Switzerland, it
2907-407: The two portions of the walls incline into each other. The style and method of construction of a wall will vary, depending on the type of stone available, its intended use and local tradition. Many older walls were constructed from stones and boulders cleared from the fields during preparation for agriculture ( field stones ) although some used stone quarried nearby. For modern walls, quarried stone
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#17327662321242964-434: The type gravity wall. The weight of the stones resists the pressure from the retained soil, including any surcharges, and the friction between the stones causes most of them to act as if they were a monolithic gravity wall of the same weight. Dry stone retaining walls were once built in great numbers for agricultural terracing and also to carry paths, roads and railways. Although dry stone is seldom used for these purposes today,
3021-459: The utility of the available stones (where ploughing was not turning up ever more stones). Another variation is the Cornish hedge or Welsh clawdd , which is a stone-clad earth bank topped by turf, scrub, or trees and characterised by a strict inward-curved batter (the slope of the "hedge"). As with many other varieties of wall, the height is the same as the width of the base, and the top is half
3078-415: The wall considerably. The voids between the facing stones are carefully packed with smaller stones ( filling , hearting ). The final layer on the top of the wall also consists of large stones, called capstones , coping stones or copes . As with the tie stones, the capstones span the entire width of the wall and prevent it breaking apart. In some areas, such as South Wales, there is a tradition of placing
3135-626: Was added to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in November 2018, alongside those of Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland. In Croatia, dry stone walls ( suhozidi ) were built for a variety of reasons: to clear the earth of stone for crops; to delineate land ownership; or for shelter against the bora wind. Some walls date back to
3192-674: Was brought to America primarily by English and Scots-Irish immigrants. The technique was also taken to Australia (principally western Victoria , some parts of Tasmania , and some parts of New South Wales , particularly around Kiama ) and New Zealand (especially Otago ). Similar walls also are found in the Swiss–Italian border region, where they are often used to enclose the open space under large natural boulders or outcrops. The higher-lying rock-rich fields and pastures in Bohemia 's south-western border range of Šumava (e.g. around
3249-563: Was designated in 2001. It has a total area of 654 033 hectares. Marakele National Park is found on the western edge of the biosphere reserve. The Welgevonden Game Reserve covers 37,500 hectares of the plateau. The Kololo Game Reserve covers 3000 hectares, part of which is in the Welgevonden Private Game Reserve, and part of which is completely protected. The Lapalala Wilderness Nature Reserve, just north of Melkrivier covers approximately 48’000 hectares and
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