DiepKloof Rock Shelter

Happy new year to one and all. I hope everyone had an excellent holiday and is well rested for the new year. I know I am, it was bliss not having to go anywhere near my computer feeling a lot better in both body and mind as a result.

I want to tell you about our trip to Diepkloof Rock Shelter.

Diepkloof is a middle-stone-age deposit sitting in a spectacular, large rock shelter atop a koppie.

The shelter commands amazing views over the surrounding landscape. Although you need the skills of a mountain goat to get up to the shelter!

Diepkloof is positioned above the bank of the Verlorenvlei River and is about 14Km for the Atlantic coast, meaning that that the shelter represents prime real-estate and middle-stone-age man.

Excavations have been continuing here for over 10 years and there have been a number of important discoveries. We visited the site the day before the team arrived to start the last field season at Deipkloof. So as you can see from all the sandbags the site was closed, but still well worth the visit!

In the picture above you can clearly see the different sediment layers. This is one of the deepest points in the excavation (somethig like 3 or 4 m) and the excavators believe that they are almost at the bedrock.

The remains of many animals have been discovered at Diepkloof like these mandibles

(Steele and Klein, 2013, Journal of Archaeological Science)

 Or and probably most famous of all are the pieces of engraved ostrich eggshell. Some of the pieces of eggshell can be fitted together and clearly come from the same egg. Researchers believe that people must have been using ostrich eggs as water containers (as the Kalahari San do today). The engraving was probably used to identify individual containers.

(Texier et al, 2010, PNAS)

It has been a dream of mine for some years to visit Diepkloof, which I had heard so much about and Im glad I got this opportunity to do so.
I hope you are keeping well and I will try to do some more beading to show you!

PS: I just discovered there is a Wikipedia page on Diepkloof Rock Shelter if you want more info on the site