Stone Age tools found in SA

2005-09-01 14:26

Johannesburg - Construction workers near Krugersdorp have stumbled onto Stone Age tools estimated at between 500 000 and 1.8 million years old.

The discovery was made a week ago on the site of a new visitors centre being built at the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage area.

University of Witwatersrand archaeologist filled up three boxes with axes, knives, cleavers, and related tools.

"They were knapped from stone in about 30 minutes," Maroteng Africa chief executive Rob King said on Thursday.

He added that a heritage impact assessment of the site before construction put the likelihood of any archaeological discovery at less than two percent.

The find was a "huge surprise to all of us".

The announcement of the find coincided with Gauteng premier Mbhazima Shilowa's renaming the site Maroteng.

Translated, it variously means "the place where we once lived" or refers to "the place of origin".

"Today marks yet another chapter to our journey to discover and protect our heritage," Shilowa said.

"We are here to rename Mohale's Gate Maroteng.

"While the current generation may not have lived here, we now know that our ancestors not only lived in this area, but once roamed around the various caves now known as The Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site.

"If we want to make sense of where we are going as a nation, and what our future holds, we need to make sense of where we come from.

"We need to make sense of our heritage - hence the name Maroteng."

The visitors centre is built on land donated to the Gauteng government by Standard Bank, about 7km from the Sterkfontein caves.

The centre, which looms over the site like a skull emerging from the ground, opens to the public from December 2.

- SAPA