In Prestwich Street, corner Alfred Street, in the middle of Cape Town, an unmarked cemetery was discovered in 2003. When a property developer was preparing to build a New York-inspired tower block (now called The Rockwell), the cemetery was uncovered. The site contained an estimated remnant of 2,500 to 3,000 deceased, consisting of both enslaved people and lower-class free people, coming from various places in Africa and Asia. A heated public consultation was held, especially when it became clear that the remains of enslaved people were involved. Opinions differed as to what should be done with the site and the remains. After much debate between developer, government and various citizen groups, the remains were exhumed for research. The site became an excavation area, and the human remains were exhumed and transferred to the Prestwich Memorial (see No. 5). Archaeologists determined that the bones were between 180 and 270 years old.

Sources

• Humphreys, Robyn; Schasiepen, Sophie; Burnett, Andri; Moretlwe, Tshiamo & Makheta, Mamello. (2024). Prestwich Street Burial Ground: Memory Contestations in Cape Town. [podcast] https://open.spotify.com/episode/28j504hqdTe0YZFGB495ww?si=aQhcqVZLQ3mYA0iL0YSyVA&nd=1&dlsi=7a99b9d0a5734405.
• Mbeki, Linda. (2018). Building Life Histories of Cape Town’s Enslaved, 1700-1850. An Archival and Isotopic Study. Unpublished PhD thesis. Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
• Weeder, Michael Ian. (2006). The Palaces of Memory. A Reconstruction of District One, Cape Town, Before and After the Group Areas Act. Unpublished MA dissertation. University of the Western Cape.