Fieldwork is one of the best things when working in archaeology. Visiting new places, excavating exciting sites, meeting new people.

This year, our South Africa field season included all of the above! 

The first stop was the ASAPA archaeological conference that was held in Kimberley, Northern Cape. There, we presented a poster on first results of the stratigraphic assessment of Umhlatuzana rock shelter. We also got the chance to visit fascinating rock art sites in the area.

 

Our excavation started shortly after. The team consisted of 7 people and we were regularly assisted by volunteers of the local archaeological society.

 

This year we decided to undertake intensive sediment sampling in the excavated profile. The aim is to locate changes in geochemistry and mineralogy throughout the section in order to identify possible occupation signals and better assess the taphonomy of the site. We have so far conducted XRF, pH, and Magnetic Susceptibility analyses.

 

Looking forward to an academic year analyzing all the data from this year’s fieldwork!