MOSSEL BAY NEWS FLASH - A skull and bones, presumably human, were this morning found at the PP 5&6 caves at Pinnacle Point which is currently being excavated by Prof Curtis Marean and his team of archaeologists.

On 24 June 2016 the KwaNonqaba Police opened an inquest docket after tibia and fibula bones were found at the very back of the cave. At that time the bones showed no signs of calcification and it was speculated that they may not have been very old.

Prof Marean told the Mossel Bay Advertiser the skull found this morning was discovered in a pit that was dug in the sand.

The KwaNonqaba Police is investigating. The investigating officer is Warrant Officer Archer. The bones will again be sent to the University of Cape Town for radiocarbon dating.

The archeological discoveries at Pinnacle Point by the international team, headed by paleoanthropologist Curtis Marean from the Institute of Human Origins of the Arizona State University and researchers from South Africa (UCT), Australia (Archaeology Program, La Trobe University, UoW), Israel, and France have made the site world famous.

In December 2012, the provincial heritage resources authority, Heritage Western Cape, declared Pinnacle Point a provincial heritage site in terms of Section 27 of the National Heritage Resources Act.

This provides the site with the highest form of protection under South African heritage law.

In 2015, the South African government submitted a proposal to add the caves to the list of World Heritage Sites.