Arusha — Construction of the largest museum of
human history, fossil remains and archaeological discoveries is in its final
stages of completion. Located in the wilderness, the facility planned to be the
largest museum of its kind in both the country and entire East African region
will open shop early next year.
Funded by the European Union (EU), the museum
is being erected at the remote Olduvai Gorge site within the Ngorongoro
Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) and covers both the Olduvai (Oldupai) and
the Laetoli archaeological sites, where it is believed that the first human
being lived millions of years ago.
"It is going to be the largest historical
museum in East Africa and the first to be constructed right at the site of
pre-historic archaeological discoveries," explained the Assistant
Conservator at Olduvai Gorge, Mr. Orgoo Mauyai.
He explained further that the facility
comprises of five large buildings to house the museum, historical data,
laboratories, a restaurant and visitors' hall. The museum overlooks the
legendary gorge which is believed to have been a lake, many years ago. It
stands adjacent to the stony road which links to Loliondo. Nearby, there is the
astounding mound of a sandy hill, which has been moving in one direction for
the last 1,000 years or so.
A recent visit to the site has revealed
serious workmen working around the clock to put final touches to the oval
shaped structures being built from pure stones, to preserve the natural setting
of the site. The authority recently took over the running of Oldupai Gorge, the
archaeological and excavation site where Dr. Mary Leakey and her husband,
Louis, once worked.
Manager In-Charge of the Cultural Heritage
Department at Olduvai Gorge, Engineer Joshua Mwankunde, said the establishment
of Dr. Leakey's Museum will go hand-in-hand with the construction of a new
building to house the archaeological findings, artifacts as well as replicas at
the current Oldupai site Museum, a project funded by the EU.
In
sync with that, Tanzania is also negotiating with Kenya over the possibilities
for the neighboring country to either sell or donate to Tanzania, all
artifacts, souvenirs, tools and personal belongings of the legendary scientist,
Dr. (Mary) Leakey.
The
old Oldupai Ravine Site Museum has been disintegrating after the departure of
Mary, who retired in 1984 before moving to Nairobi where she died twenty years
ago on December 9, 1996, ironically the 35th anniversary of Tanganyika's
independence. Mary,, who was born in 1913, was a British paleoanthropologist
who discovered the first fossilized Proconsul skull, an extinct ape now
believed to be among the human ancestors.
She
also discovered the robust Zinjanthropus skull at Oldupai (Olduvai) Gorge. For
much of her career, spanning more than 50 years in Tanzania; she worked
alongside her husband Louis at the archaeological site located within the
Ngorongoro Conservation Area, where they uncovered the tools and fossils of
ancient hominines.
She
developed a system for classifying the stone tools found at Olduvai and was the
one who discovered the Laetoli footprints. It was at the other Laetoli site,
where she again discovered Hominid fossils that were more than 4 million years
old. During her 50 years' career in Arusha, Dr Leakey discovered 15 new species
of other animals and one new genus.
After
the death of her husband in 1972, Mary Leakey became Director of Excavation at
the Olduvai Gorge. The site was then under the Antiquities Department of the
Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism.
She
helped to establish a Leakey family tradition of paleoanthropology by training
her son on the field. The Leakey’s moved to work in Tanzania in 1931, after Dr.
Louis Leakey found some Olduvai fossils in Berlin, Germany, deciding then that
Olduvai Gorge must be holding crucial information on human origins.
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