Matobo Hills Pomongwe Cave Rock Art
Stone Age 13,000 BCE–19th c. CE·San and Iron Age farmers·🇿🇼 Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe
About
About Matobo Hills Pomongwe Cave Rock Art
Matobo Hills Pomongwe (Pondongwe) Cave – granite kopje landscape with 3,000+ rock art sites; Pomongwe frieze of kudu, giraffe and white bovid panels; Bambata Cave MSA 125 ka deposits. Iron Age white paintings (c.1800 CE farmers) overlie San polychrome. Cecil Rhodes' grave and Njelele shrine overlay; UNESCO 2003 living cultural landscape of San-Zimbabwe-BaTonga.
Why it mattersMatobo granite kopje rock art density with 125 ka Bambata MSA deposits
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Dating precision and pigment chronology
- 02Symbolic meaning and shamanic interpretation
Theories
- 01Ceremonial centre and cosmological alignment
- 02Territorial marker and ritual landscape
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Pomongwe and Bambata caves 13 ka BCE–19th c. CE
- Period
- Stone Age 13,000 BCE–19th c. CE
- Culture
- San and Iron Age farmers
- Builders
- Matobo San painters
- Purpose
- Matobo granite hills rock art (3000 sites): white and polychrome traditions
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
Pomongwe and Bambata caves 13 ka BCE–19th c. CE
Initial construction
On the ground
Structures & features
20.5167° S · 28.4833° E · 1480 m · 3 mapped features
Pomongwe Frieze (Kudu-Giraffe)
rock art panelLinear frieze of kudu, giraffe and white bovid polychrome
20.5165° S · 28.4834° EBambata Cave MSA Deposits
archaeological layerMiddens and 125 ka MSA stone tool layers below art
20.5170° S · 28.4835° EWhite Farmer Period Panels
rock art panelLater Iron Age white geometric farmer paintings over San layer
20.5163° S · 28.4831° E