17th century water canal, Adderley Street, Cape Town, 1982

Water canal found in city: Council workers laying water pipes in Adderley Street stopped digging when archaeologist, Miss Gabebah Abrahams peered down the hole and discovered a 17th century water canal. Miss Abrahams, 25, who says she makes a habit of looking into holes, saw a levelling of stone where the workers were digging which seemed to be a wall. Further excavations unearthed a canal which seems to connect to the wall. The canal runs under Adderley Street and joins up with canals running from Government Avenue up Wale Street to Long Street and Buitengracht Street. CASTLE: The mortar and brickwork is the same as the wall of Wagenaar's Reservoir, unearthed in the Golden Acre. Miss Abrahams said it was of the same period as the Castle and was probably built in the 17th century during the Dutch occupation of the Cape. "There used to be a moat around the Houses of Parliament. The ducts could have led into this to carry water off", she said. "This is one of the oldest structures in Cape Town . People are digging up valuable cultural and historical material all the time and they don't know about it. We are losing the history of Cape Town", she added. Miss Abrahams also found some clay pipe, an old bottle base, porcelain, bone and pottery, which date back to the 17th century. The porcelain is the same type as that discovered in the Golden Acre. Some of the canal will be demolished when the City Council lays water pipes.