The KZN Museum Human Science department recently hosted a visiting researcher, Dr Gerrit Dusseldorp and a team from the Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University in the Netherlands. The team recently excavated at the Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter, which is just off the N3 near Marianhill Toll Plaza. The site was first opened and excavated in the late 1980’s due to the building of the N3 Marian Hill Toll-Gate, and is a Middle Stone Age (100 000- 30 000 years ago) and a Late Stone Age site (30 000 - 2 000 years ago). The KwaZulu-Natal Museum currently stores the material excavated from this site. Dr Dusseldorp and his team spent some time at the KZN Museum sorting through this material. 

Three members of the KZN Museum staff of the and one honorary associate from the Department of Natural Science attended the 9th International Congress of Dipterology (ICD9) in Windhoek, Namibia from 25 to 30 November 2018. Dr John Midgley (Assistant Director), Dr Kirstin Williams (Chief Curator) and Ms Tricia Pillay (Research Technician) all presented papers, while Dr Jason Londt (Emeritus Director) attended a symposium in his honour. The contribution of the KwaZulu-Natal Museum to this conference was highlighted by both Dr Midgley and Dr Williams chairing research symposia, in Diptera Biodiversity Informatics and Forensic Dipterology. The highlight of the conference was undoubtedly the election of Dr Londt as an Honorary Member of the International Congress of Dipterology, recognising his contribution to the field over the past 40 years. Only nine people have been recognised in this way in the past 36 years, and Dr Londt becomes the first African to receive this honour.