Did You Know?
The Britse skans (British sangar) along the old Britstown road near De Aar is a small stone fortification built during the Second Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902). De Aar was a key railway junction and British military base, and such sangars were constructed as observation posts to guard against Boer commando raids. This particular sangar, dating to around 1900, would have been manned by British troops to monitor the approach from Britstown, a route used by Boer forces. The structure is a typical example of the dry-stone sangars built across the Karoo, often on hilltops, to provide cover and a vantage point. De Aar itself was occupied by the British in early 1900 and became a major supply depot, with blockhouses and sangars erected to protect the railway line and surrounding areas.
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