Makapansgat and Mokopane

A Component Of The UNESCO Fossil Hominid Sites Of South Africa Inscription (1999, Extended 2005) The Third In This Set After The Cradle Of Humankind And Taung Holding Hominin Remains And Some Of The Earliest Evidence Of Controlled Fire Use Anywhere, In The Same Valley As The Historic Cave Where Hundreds Of Ndebele Died Under Siege In 1854. ACCESS IS RESTRICTED AND BY ARRANGEMENT · Mokopane, Limpopo

Two things happened in this valley, separated by a million years and more, and neither is comfortable. The caves in the old limeworks hold hominin remains and some of the earliest evidence anywhere on earth of fire being used deliberately, which is why Makapansgat is a component of the same UNESCO inscription as the Cradle of Humankind and Taung - the Fossil Hominid Sites of South Africa, listed in 1999 and extended in 2005. Then in 1854 the Historic Cave above the valley was besieged: Ndebele under Mokopane had killed a party of Boers, a commando came, the people took refuge in the cave, the entrances were walled and watched, and hundreds died inside of thirst and hunger over several weeks. That is what happened and this row does not dress it up. Be clear about access before you come: THIS IS A RESTRICTED RESEARCH SITE, visits are by arrangement, and very little is built for a visitor to look at.

In the limeworks valley 15 km north-east of Mokopane, off the N11 towards Marken, Mokopane, Limpopo, South Africa

THERE ARE NO VISITOR HOURS IN THE ORDINARY SENSE, and this is the most important line in the row. Makapansgat is a declared heritage site and an active research area within the UNESCO Fossil Hominid Sites inscription, ACCESS IS RESTRICTED AND BY PRIOR ARRANGEMENT, and arriving unannounced means a locked gate at best. Enquiries go through the Mokopane municipality, the provincial heritage authority or the university research groups working the site, and arrangements take time. VERY LITTLE IS BUILT - there is no visitor centre of the kind the Cradle of Humankind has, no exhibition and no shop. Mokopane town fifteen kilometres away has fuel, supermarkets, a museum and the Mokopane biodiversity conservation centre, and is where a visitor actually spends time. The valley is MALARIA-FREE at this altitude.

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