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| Image: the entrance to Wonderwerk Cave. Photograph by Andre Grove, with kind permission. |
| Location: | Danielskuil, Northern Cape. Kuruman-Danielskuil road, 45km from Kuruman, turn off to Wonderwerk Cave is signposted. Keys and visitors book at the farm house. |
| Open: | after appointment, daily |
| Fee: | |
| Classification: |
 Karst cave.
Dolomitic limestone, Ghaap Plateau Dolomite Formation.
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| Light: | electric. |
| Dimension: | L=139m. |
| Guided tours: | |
| Bibliography: | |
| Address: | Mr and Mrs Nieuwoudt, Tel: +27-53-384-0680. |
| Last update: | $Date: 2008/07/01 20:33:22 $ |
| 05-JUL-1844 | first description of the cave by H. Methuen. | |
| the first white farmer at Wonderwerk P. Bosman lived in the cave with family and afterwards used it as a cart-house and sheep shelter. | ||
| 1940-1944 | commercial exploitation of the site for bat guano by N.J. Bosman. | |
| 1940-1948 | archaeological investigations by B.D. Malan. | |
| 1974-1977 | excavations by K.W. Butzer. | |
| 1979 | excavations by J.F. & A.I. Thackeray. | |
| 1978-2002 | excavations by P.B. Beaumont. | |
| 1993 | cave and surrounding land ceded to the McGregor Museum by the Bosman and Nieuwoudt families. |
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| Image: bushman paintings in Wonderwerk Cave. Photograph by Andre Grove, with kind permission. |
The most interesting feature of Wonderwerk Cave are bushman paintings on its walls, dating back 10,000 years.
The cave was used as shelter by the first white settlers, P. Bosman and his family lived in the cave for some time. Later the bat guano of the cave was mined and used as fertilizer. This exploitation destroyed vast amounts of sediments and its contents, but also the found artifacts led to the first archaeological excavations. Since 1940 numerous excavations took place in this cave, and they still go on.
The cave was privatly owned by the Bosman and Nieuwoudt families until 1993. Because of the importance of the site, it was ceded to the McGregor Museum which managed the scientific exploration. The McGregor Museum establish a small museum at the site, which explains the finds and their whereabouts. The museum is part of a cave visit.
Today the cave is protected by an iron grid. It is possible to visit the cave and the excavations, but there are no regular tours. Depending on the activities at the site, the archaeologists or the farmers at the adjacent farm show the cave to visitors.
The cave is a karst cave, but from the speleologic point of view it is rather dull. A short passage with a single dripstone formation, a stalagmite two meters high.
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