Knersvlakte Nature Reserve-Jakkalsdraai-822

A large and very dense LSA site measuring 50 m from northwest to southeast and 30 m from northeast to southwest. It is located on the high southern bank of a river adjacent to a rock outcrop which creates a rock bar in the river (see image). This is a typical location to find such sites since after rain the sand and gravel behind the rock bar is likely to retain subsurface water for far longer than elsewhere along the river. The scatter includes flaked stone artefacts in a variety of materials including clear and milky quartz, cream and grey crypto -crystalline silica, hornfels, and quartzite of various colours. An elongated hammerstone was also found. A backed scraper in crypto - crystalline silica was seen likely indicating occupation more than 3000 years ago, while two pieces of mineral -tempered pottery date to less than 2000 years ago. This overprinting of material of various ages makes the site a palimpsest . It is likely that this location was visited many times over a long period because of the water supply. Despite being a mixed assemblage, it contains plenty of artefacts which can still provide information about the people living in the Knersvlakte over the last several thousand years. In the north-western 
part of the scatter there were two 
extra dense scatters of ostrich 
eggshell fragments which may 
represent shells that broke at those 
locations.