South African world heritage experts at the Sibhudu Cave in KwaZulu Natal, which was officially declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site last week.
Sibhudu Cave in KwaZulu Natal, a site of immense archaeological importance, has been officially declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This prestigious designation came after the presentation of the cave at the 46th Congress of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in New Delhi last week.
“On Friday, the World Heritage Committee approved the inscription of the serial nomination: ‘The Emergence of Modern Human Behaviour: The Pleistocene Occupation Sites of South Africa in the list of World Heritage properties’’.
This nomination was presented by a delegation including the HOD of the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture, Dr Charity Sifunda, the CEO of KZN Amafa and Research Institute, Dr Mxolisi Dlamuka and the Senior Specialist: World Heritage, Dr Mariagrazia Galimberti.
The site has three components: Sibhudu Cave in kwaDukuza, Diepkloof Rock Shelter and Pinnacle Point Site Complex in the Western Cape.
Sibhudu Cave's stratified deposits reveal human occupation for 77 000 years, revealing sophisticated artefacts like stone tools and bone implements, providing insight into early modern human cognitive and cultural development.
“This inscription is the formal acknowledgement of the outstanding significance of these South African sites in writing the history of who we are and in understanding our common ancestors. These sites all carry evidence of how we started developing more complex thinking starting 162 000 years ago. This inscription also reminds us of the unifying power of heritage,” said Dlamuka.
Head of KZN Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, Dr Thobile Sifunda said the inscription, along with the inscription of Ohlange as part of the "Human rights, liberation and reconciliation: the Nelson Mandela legacy sites", which was also inscribed last week in the list of World Heritage properties, is evidence of the commitment of the KwaZulu-Natal government to invest into heritage and its conservation.
Sibhudu Cave becomes the third world heritage site in KwaZulu National, joining the Drakensberg Mountain and Isimangaliso Wetland Park.
This designation not only cements Sibhudu’s status as a critical piece of global heritage but also promises to have transformative implications for tourism in KZN.
KwaDukuza mayor Lindile Nhaca said they will use this site to encourage dialogue and understanding amongst different communities and seek to build new opportunities for the tourism and economic development footprint.
Galimberti said currently the site is closed to the public, if not for organised visits, but the intent is for it to be accessible soon to visitors and all efforts will now focus on this.
“Now that Sibhudu Cave, along with a Diepkloof Shelter and Pinnacle Points Site Complex, has been inscribed in the World Heritage list, the commitment by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture and the KZN Amafa and Research Institute is to ensure that the site is as soon as possible open to the public and that everyone in the province and beyond can get to know and understand its significance.
“In line with the aim of the KZN government to eradicate poverty, the expectation is for Sibhudu Cave to attract more tourism and create economic spin-offs in the region and the province,” said Galimberti “Sibhudu Cave, along with Ohlange, have reminded us that KZN and South Africa have sites with outstanding universal values for the world, starting from the development of human cognitive abilities, to the rock art of the Maloti-Drakensberg, to the beauty of the Isimangaliso Wetland Park,” she added.
The Mercury
Related Topics: