Archaeology at the beach... the MSA
The inter-tidal zone is not exactly a usual place for an archaeological dig.
However after some vicious storms had shifted the boulders around, some interesting horizontal beds were exposed.
These beds are sandstones derived from solidified beach dunes dating to about 120 000 years ago.
This is in the Middle Stone Age in Southern Africa and sea levels were much lower due to large ice sheets covering much of Europe.
The black boulders are from a lava intrusion and this lava baked some of the surrounding mudstones into a very useful tool making metamorphic rock.
As a result, the fossilized dunes are scattered with MSA tools and debris from making tools.
Here are some specimens that are exposed at low tides.
These are still partially embedded in the fossil dune sandstones and are covered in barnacles and other sea organisms.
Pictures are not of the greatest quality because of having to rush taking them between waves.
Around the same time, I took some shots, out of the airplane window, of uncharacteristic snow that had fallen in the drakensberg mountains, in the middle of Summer.
Wow!!! It's really amazing! And you dont need to dig :O
Fascinating!
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Absolutely fascinating. Fully upvoted you. Found you by accident and am now following you. Looking forward to more such posts. thanks
I always marvel at how beautiful the earth is...these facts are just an affirmation of that...thanx for sharing this post man
How do you even find such archeological stuff there on the beach? To the untrained eye they just look like simple stones. Do you have some degree or such? Coz it is impressive @gavvet. :)
Practice trains the eyes
If i have an archeological background perhaps i could find what i am looking for. Nevertheless, great finds. :)
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nice you dont even need to dig ;)
Just dodge waves ;)
Fractal geometry;)
Great fractal geometry when you have a uniformly weathering and eroding geological body.
Nice pictures anyways.
Amazing work..@gavvet🍃
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That is a difficult way to discover fossilized dunes given the limited time between tides to work.
the fossilised dunes also extend inland
I like to explore Shell middens and look for pottery and stone tools. The first one I explored was in a bay in the Gulf of Mexico.
I would so love to explore that beach!
The first picture in this post is taken while standing next to a midden...
Once you know what they look like then it is easy to spot them anywhere.