Clarence van Riet Lowe was born on 4 November 1894 in Aliwal North, Eastern Cape. A civil engineer by profession, Clarence was in charge of construction of over a hundred bridges in South Africa. It was during the construction of the bridges that he discovered over 300 prehistoric sites. This led to a change of career from civil engineering to archeology for Lowe.
By 1935, Lowe was well known both locally and abroad as a leading archeologist. He was honored greatly for his service to the discipline. He died on in 1956 in Knysna.
