St Blaize Cave

Useful Information

Location:	Mossel Bay/Mosselbaai.
Open:	Reservation mandatory. [2023]
Fee:	Reservation mandatory. [2023]
Classification:	Karst cave
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Point of Human Origins, Pinnacle Point, Mossel Bay 6511, Tel: +27-79-640-0004. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

2000	start of excavation.

Description

St Blaize Cave is the biggest and most important cave of 15 caves in the area of Cape St Blaize. The cave has always been a lookout point and is still used today for whale and dolphin watching. But 1999 the caves were chosen for excavation by the paleo-anthropologist Prof Curtis Marean of the Institute of Human Origins at Arizona State University in the U.S.A.

The Mossel Bay Archeology Project included scientists from many disciplines from the US, Israel, Australia and South Africa. The excavations were especially successful in St Blaize Cave and Cave PP13B. They revealed evidence that early man lived along the Southern Cape coast 164,000 years ago. A scientific sensation was evidence, that early man had made use of marine resources for food. The so far earliest evidence was only 120,000 years, which means that humans started doing this at least 40,000 years earlier.

The excavations are complete, but at the moment the caves are not open for the public. The Eden district municipality has given Mossel Bay Tourism a grant to upgrade the facilities at the St Blaize Cave. It will be used to repair the boardwalks and paving in and around the cave. The cave will be one of several archaeological sights in the area. There are many rock art sites in the area and ancient Khoisan fish traps. Obviously those sites are much younger.