News24 | Municipal workers unearth 15 000 suspected Anglo-Boer War era ammunition rounds worth R7m

Municipal workers digging to erect electricity poles in Sunrise, De Aar, discovered crates containing approximately 15 000 rounds of historic ammunition.

Supplied/SAPS

• Municipal workers digging to erect electricity poles in Sunrise, De Aar, in the Northern Cape, discovered crates containing approximately 15 000 rounds of historic ammunition.
• The ammunition was identified as .303 rounds, believed to date back to the Anglo-Boer War, with an estimated value of R7 million.
• A multi-disciplinary police team and military personnel safely recovered ammunition.

Municipal workers digging to erect electricity poles in De Aar in the Northern Cape made a startling discovery when they unearthed crates containing thousands of rounds of historic ammunition believed to date back to the Anglo-Boer War.

The workers were operating in the vicinity of Malay Camp in Sunrise, De Aar, on Tuesday when they stumbled upon the crates and immediately alerted police.

Northern Cape police spokesperson Colonel Cherelle Ehlers said officers responded to the scene and conducted a preliminary assessment.

The ammunition was identified as .303 rounds with an estimated value of R7 million.

Ehlers told News24 that police were working with an expert from a museum who helped determine the age of the ammunition and its estimated value. It is unclear what methodology was used to determine the value.

#sapsNC [MUNICIPAL WORKERS UNCOVER HISTORIC AMMUNITION WORTH AN ESTIMATED R7 MILLION IN SUNRISE]

The South African Police Service (SAPS) in Sunrise in De Aar has recovered approximately 15 000 rounds of historic ammunition, with an estimated value of R7 million, following a… pic.twitter.com/K2cAlMQHir

— SA Police Service 🇿🇦 (@SAPoliceService) October 9, 2026

Ehlers said a multi-disciplinary team comprising members of the Local Criminal Record Centre (LCRC), Explosives Unit, K9 Unit and Sunrise detectives was deployed to the scene.

An enquiry was registered to facilitate further investigation into the discovery.

She said:

On Friday, the team, assisted by military personnel, returned to the scene to safely retrieve the ammunition. Approximately 15 000 rounds were recovered during the operation.

The surrounding area has been declared safe, and investigations into the circumstances surrounding the discovery are ongoing.

READ | The Anglo-Boer War at a glance

The Anglo-Boer War was a major conflict fought from 11 October 1899 to 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and two independent Afrikaner (Boer) republics - the South African Republic (Transvaal) and the Orange Free State.

The war was driven by a clash between British imperial expansion and Afrikaner nationalists who desired self-governance, intensified by the discovery of massive gold deposits in the Transvaal – an area which has since been divided into four provinces: Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and North West.

Ehlers urged the public not to handle or tamper with any suspected ammunition or explosive materials, but to immediately report such discoveries to police.