Kweneng is a dense agglomeration of stone-walled structures in the western foothills of the Suikerbosrand massif, some 30 km south of central Johannesburg. The hundreds of Molokwane-style homesteads, large livestock enclosures, monumental ash heaps, stone towers, and other impressive architectural features attest to the economic wealth and political importance of this pre-colonial city during its classic phase of occupation. The northern end of the city contains architecture of an older style, while a number of homesteads in the southern sector are built in late pre-colonial styles. It remains to be seen whether parts of Kweneng were still inhabited when the first European settlers reached this area in the mid-1800s. With a complete sequence from formation to collapse, the well-preserved ruins of Kweneng can shed light on the birth of urbanism in more distant times where the evidence might be considerably less intact. This seminar presents details of current research on Kweneng and introduces the settlement pattern and the principal features of this ancient city.

Professor Karim Sadr received his PhD from the Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, in 1988 with a thesis on the origins of pastoral nomadism in northeast Africa. Over the years he has been involved in archaeological fieldwork in North, Central and South America, Europe and Africa. He first came to South Africa in 1990 as a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Cape Town and then joined the history department as a lecturer at the University of Botswana. He came to Wits in 2001 and is now a Professor at the University if the Witwatersrand in GAES. He has around one hundred publications to his name. He has contributed important research to the understanding of domesticated animals and herding in southern Africa. He also has interests in the use of Geospatial technologies in the study of pre-colonial stone wall settlements around Johannesburg.

• Date: Tuesday 2 April | 6pm for 6:30pm
• Tickets will be available on webtickets or at the door. 
• Adults R65, Students R35, Preferential R50
• Enquiries bookings.origins@wits.ac.za; 011 717 4700
• Drinks will be served.