Siyakha Mguni, a dedicated and knowledgeable Rock Art specialist was appointed in July 2005 to the position of Resident Archaeologist and Curator. His primary function is to record, document and research all the rock art sites in the reserve, in order to create a database linked to a Geographic Information System (GIS) platform. Mguni also lectures and assists the University of Cape Town’s Clanwilliam-based Living Landscape Project and further trains Bushmans Kloof’s rangers in current rock art analysis and interpretation, based on new research being conducted all over the continent.

Siyakha Mguni, who hails from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe holds a Master of Arts degree from the University of the Witwatersrand (where he gained a distinction in Archaeology) and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Cape Town where he obtained Honours in Archaeology. He brings invaluable experience gained through his participation in various fieldworks, rock art surveys and tracing projects in southern, central and eastern Africa. He has also conducted research in the SADC region and assisted in various preservation projects for this sacred cultural legacy. These include surveying and recording rock art sites; project management and curatorship of a number of projects as well as lecturing on the role of rock art, notably within the sphere of ecotourism. He has held a number of key positions, most recently that of Research Officer with the Rock Art Research Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand, in Gauteng, South Africa.

Mguni assists the University of Cape Town’s Clanwilliam-based Living Landscape Project, a community based heritage and education project, directed by Prof. John Parkington of UCT’s department of Archaeology, aimed at returning the archaeological archive to the Clanwilliam area as material for curriculum development and job creation. This is significant of Bushmans Kloofs’ ground-breaking vision for the protection and preservation of this cultural patrimony.

“We see this endeavour as a partnership between ourselves, Bushmans Kloof and the Living Landscape Project and we are working closely with Siyakha during his tenure at Bushmans Kloof, to guide him in creating this archive which will serve as a platform for further research in this area.”
Professor John Parkington