No human remains found in area targeted for Lüderitz port expansion

The Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage Impact Assessment conducted for the Namibian Ports Authority (Namport) quay extension project in Lüderitz, near Shark Island, found no evidence of human remains or materials linked to the former concentration camp.Maritime archaeologist Vanessa Maitland, who conducted the study, said they found modern debris — bottles, tyres, cables, conduits, and some parts of the 2022 shipwreck.“We didn’t find any human remains, and one would not expect to. It’s been 120 years of a very rough sea with many marine creatures that clean up our oceans. We didn’t find any manacles or anything of that nature. It doesn’t mean they aren’t there, but it’s unlikely they’ll be found,” Maitland said.She was speaking at a public consultation held by Geo Pollution Technologies at the Lüderitz harbour on Friday and Saturday.Maitland, whose expertise includes shipwrecks and maritime landscapes, explained that a small island north of Shark Island was once used as a smallpox quarantine zone. “That should be a sensitive area because they wouldn’t have wanted to remove those bodies. Birds would have fed on them, and they likely collapsed into the gully between Shark Island and the smaller island. I think that’s a highly sensitive area,” she said.RecommendationsMaitland recommended the establishment of a 20- to 30-metre buffer zone along the island’s northern side, where no development should be permitted to protect potential remains. “It’s archaeological best practice to leave remains in situ until there’s a valid research question or another reason for excavation. Leaving them in situ is best,” she advised.She also proposed creating a museum on Shark Island. “There are several artifacts, such as an old metal pole found by archaeologist John Kinahan, likely part of the original fencing. They also found a historical photograph of an inmate breaking rocks and identified the exact location, including the chopping marks still visible today. That’s a very evocative artefact of the past,” she said.Living memoryMaitland further suggested creating a scholarship programme to encourage Herero and Nama students to study history and document the genocide from their communities’ perspectives. “It’s vital that the story of the concentration camp and the genocide is told by those who were impacted. It was a traumatic national event that still affects people today. Many living Namibians are the grandchildren of victims, so it remains within living memory, and those stories deserve to be told,” she emphasised.She added, “The British recorded first-hand accounts of these stories. They could form part of a museum and a place of remembrance, not just for Lüderitz, but for Namibia as a whole. Shark Island remains relatively isolated. The town or development hasn’t overtaken it and can be preserved as a complete place of memory for the entire genocide.”

No human remains found in area targeted for Lüderitz port expansion

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Namibian Sun 2026-02-27

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No human remains found in area targeted for Lüderitz port expansion

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Namibian Sun 2026-02-27

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