Melville Koppies

Melville Koppies Nature Reserve
Map
LocationSouth Africa
Nearest cityJohannesburg
Coordinates26°10′03″S 28°00′07″E / 26.1674986°S 28.0020311°E / -26.1674986; 28.0020311
Area42.93 ha (106.1 acres)
Established2 September 1959
Hiking trails3
WebsiteMelville Koppies Nature Reserve

The Melville Koppies Cave. The plaque indicates that it is a Johannesburg Heritage site. The plaque states: "The cave is a fissure formed between 2.9 billion-year-old quartzite rocks of what is now the Melville Koppies Ridge. For hundreds of years the cave provided a shelter for people living around and moving across the area. The site was excavated in 1971. An analysis of the archaeological remains found in the cave suggests that, as early as 1500 A.D., farming communities made use of the resources the area had to offer. When supplies dwindled they supplemented their diet with wild plants and hunted wild animals."

Melville Koppies is a nature reserve and a Johannesburg City Heritage Site in Johannesburg, South Africa.[1] The word 'koppie' means small hill.[2]

Iron Age artefacts can still be found at the site.[3][4] Visitors can walk or hike in the Koppies, and tours are offered.[5] Neighbouring it is the Johannesburg Botanical Garden.

  1. ^ "Melville Koppies Nature Reserve". www.mk.org.za. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  2. ^ "Koppies", The Free Dictionary, retrieved 11 March 2021
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Fri01 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Revil Mason's Melville Koppies | The Heritage Portal". www.theheritageportal.co.za. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  5. ^ Carstens, Wendy (2014). "The value of tours around heritage sites with Melville Koppies as an example". Yesterday and Today (12): 117–127. ISSN 2223-0386 – via Scielo.