WHAT DOES THE MINE HAVE TO TELL US? ART AS A RECLAMATION STREATEGY IN THE POST-MINED LANDSCAPE OF THE OLDEST KNOWN MINE IN THE WORLD, NGWENYA MINE SWAZILAND

Abstract

Swaziland's Ngwenya Mines, the oldest known mine in the world, has been a source of ochre for cultural use for over 43,000 years. Until the 20th Century, extraction at Ngwenya Mine left an imperceptible mark on the landscape until industrial technology enabled new mining practices that have dramatically and irrevocably altered this landscape. The intent of this thesis is to further the development of mine reclamation models and ultimately benefit similar sites around the world. By building on current mine reclamation strategies where Land Art is a mediator between ecology and industry, this thesis focuses on the important story Ngwenya Mine can tell. With no intervention, the conclusion will be an untreated landscape with limited potential. With creative design responses, a story of cultural and ecological integrity can persist into the future.