Iho-Eleru

The Cave of Ashes

Useful Information

Location:	Ifedore, Ondo State. 24 km north-west of Akure. (7.441667, 5.127778)
Open:	no restrictions. [2025]
Fee:	free. [2025]
Classification:	Karst Cave
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:	Thurstan Shaw, S. G. H. Daniels (1984): Excavations at Iwo Eleru, Ondo State, Nigeria West African Journal of Archaeology 14 (1984): pp 1-269. Katerina Harvati, Chris Stringer, Rainer Grün, Maxime Aubert, Philip Allsworth-Jones, Caleb Adebayo Folorunso (2011): The Later Stone Age Calvaria from Iho Eleru, Nigeria: Morphology and Chronology PLoS One. 2011; 6(9): e24024. Philip Allsworth-Jones, Katerina Harvati, Christopher Stringer (2010): The archaeological context of the Iwo Eleru cranium from Nigeria and preliminary results of new morphometric studies researchgate
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History

1922	cave discovered by a native named Obele, who was hunting.
1961	site discovered by Chief Officer J. Akeredolu.
1963	begin of excavations by Thurstan Shaw and S.G.H. Daniels.
1965	Iho Eleru skull discovered by Thurstan Shaw.
1992	cave designated one of the tourist destinations in Nigeria.
2011	study conducted by Katerina Harvati, Chris Stringer and others dated the finds.

Description

Iho Eleru was formerly known as Iwo Eleeru, so you may find this name in older descriptions. The locals call the cave Ihò Eléérú in their language Isharun, which translates Cave of Ashes, because it was frequently used by hunters which lighted a fire in the cave, so the floor was covered by a thick layer of ash. This is a large rock shelter in southwestern Nigeria which is an important archaeological site. Thurstan Shaw, the famous archaeologist, found the bones of prehistoric man, dated to more than 8,000 years B.C. The most famous discovery was the Iho Eleru skull was dated to be 13,000 BP. Also, the remains of African olive (Canarium schweinfurthii) suggest that the plant was already cultivated 11,300 BP, for the first time in the West Africa region.

The cave was discovered imn 1961 by Chief Officer J. Akeredolu from the Department of Antiquities in Benin during a large-scale survey of the hills around the town of Akure. Thurstan Shaw and S.G.H. Daniels were the first who excavated the cave and published their results. But since then the remains were analyzed several times. A new dating from 2011 with the U/Th method dated the findings to between 11,700 and 16,300 years ago.

The cave is located in a remote area, and there is actually no road nearby. The cave was designated one of the tourist destinations in Nigeria in 1992, which was futile as it was not really accessible, excebt by a long hike. The cave was declared a national monument, but nevertheless there is so far no development. Still there are plans to submit the site to the UNESCO WHL and develop it as a tourist site.