Artefacts found in plain view

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - The idea of Mossel Bay being the cradle for the development of modern man seems to be more and more plausible - even to laymen having the odd stroll on the beach.

Last week, a former teacher with a doctorate in English literature and resident of George, Dr Mike Hagemann, decided to take a drive to Hartenbos and took a walk on the beach.

"We were planning to collect a few pebbles for an art project and just a few minutes into our walk, I spotted something unusual on the sand."

Hagemann identified the object as an Acheulean bifacial hand axe.

"Unlike the smooth, sea tumbled pebbles on the beach, this relic shows evidence of bifurcation and knapping and still has a clearly visible worked edge. It's remarkable to think that something made so many thousands of years ago was lying there in plain view below the high water mark."

Following an enquiry from the Mossel Bay Advertiser this week, Hagemann pointed out that the piece was found on the beach just across the road from the ATKV campsite.

"It fits neatly into my right hand, so it was used by someone who was right-handed.

I consulted a friend of mine, Professor JB Gewald from the African Studies centre at Leiden and also corresponded with an amateur archaeologist in Cape Town. They agree it is extraordinarily old. Gewald reckons it may even be the work of a hominid, Homo erectus - an early human that predates Homo sapiens."

The Advertiser earlier this year reported on similar finds in Hartenbosheuwels. Nic van der Westhuizen found artefacts on land adjacent to his home that, according to experts, may date back to the early and middle stone age. Van der Westhuizen has been actively seeking to draw attention to the site to stop proposed development of it.

Nic Walker, who holds a doctorate in archaeology and previously worked closely with heritage conservation in Botswana, says that since taking residence in Mossel Bay in 2006, he has often come across artefacts typical of the early and middle stone age.

Some of these, he said, were found in the central business district during excavation done for laying fibre internet cabling in 2020 and earlier this year.

Walker believes heritage management in South Africa leaves much to be desired. He blames under staffing, among other issues.

"It could be beneficial during land development processes to at least have a heritage officer on site. Heritage tourism is popular in Europe and a town like Mossel Bay could surely also benefit from it."

Dr Mike Hagemann from George sent this photograph of a bifacial hand axe which he found on Hartenbos Beach to the Mossel Bay Advertiser.