Pomongwe Cave is a

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

and

rock art In archaeology, rock art is human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type also ...

site in Zimbabwe, located inside the

Matobo National Park The Matobo National Park forms the core of the Matobo or Matopos Hills, an area of granite kopjes and wooded valleys commencing some south of Bulawayo, southern Zimbabwe. The hills were formed over 2 billion years ago with granite being forced t ...

, one kilometer east o
Maleme Dam
The cave, formed by negative exfoliation, lays the end of a small valley facing northeast. It is 20m long and 20 wide. The name Pomongwe is derived from the

Kalanga Kalanga may refer to: * BaKalanga people * Kalanga language Kalanga, or ''TjiKalanga'' (in Zimbabwe), is a Bantu language spoken by the Kalanga people in Botswana and Zimbabwe. It has an extensive phoneme inventory, which includes palatalise ...

word for 'melon' referring to the dome shaped hill.

Usage, findings and excavations

The cave was used by Stone Age people, possibly Middle Stone age because of the rare, prepared cores and triangular points present in the cave. The several excavations done in 1960–1962 and in 1979 suggest that there is a possibility that it was a communal area.

Rock art paintings

The site has visible rock art paintings of giraffe, zebra, kudu, eland as well as two outlined elephants, even though it was destroyed by misguided preservation efforts in the 1920s that saw linseed oil being applied on the paintings. Also visible are images of women, geometric shapes and paintings associated with agriculturalists. Near the cave is a site museum and interpretive center that was opened on the 1st of July 1994.

National monument status

Although the cave is a well known site and is frequently visited, unfortunately was never proclaimed as a national monument, due to the fact that the rock art found was of insufficient quality to justify its proclamation. Pomongwe Cave site

References

{{coord, -20.5477, 28.5133, format=dms, display=title, region:ZW_type:landmark Caves of Zimbabwe