GI1

1.1. GI1

Thus far, three excavations have been carried out at GI1 and a surface observation made at a fourth point. These are discussed in turn below. The remaining exposure of the site is cut approximately in half by the access road on to the top of the inselberg (Figure 6).

The excavation, although very small relative to the overall size of the site, has yielded a large collection of artefacts. The site is unusually dense with the majority of the stone in the site actually being artefactual. No full analysis has taken place as this would be an exceedingly large and costly job. However, an MSA specialist (Wesley Flear) has briefly examined the material, listed the characteristic artefact types found, and provided a brief overview of the assemblage.

1.1.1. GI1-1

The first excavation was carried out at the eastern end of the remaining exposure of the site as follows:

6 m2 were collected from the surface;
1 m2 was excavated to 21 cm depth with three sub-surface spits; and
0.25 m2 was excavated to 78 cm depth with nine subsurface spits (at this point the deposit became sterile).

Artefacts became progressively less dense with depth until at 78 cm the deposit appeared to be totally sterile and excavation was ceased. The upper parts were very rocky but became more calcrete-rich lower down with very few banded iron formation rocks near the base (Figure 7). No anthropogenic stratigraphy was evident.

Figure 6: Aerial view from Google Earth of the GI1 site. The round symbol shows the original location as mapped by Morris (2013) and the triangular symbols are locations sampled/recorded during the present work.

The characteristic and more interesting artefacts and features found in the deep sounding excavation, square L100NW, are as follows:

L100NW  - Surface

Denticulate Blade
Retouch
Notch
Platform core
Blade

L100NW  - Spit 2

Many blades
Recurrent Levallois core
Platform preparation
2 Rotated cores
Retouch (heavily reworked pieces)
Notch

L100NW  - Spit 3

Recurrent levallois core
Rotated core
Heavy retouch and usewear (Adze like)
2 Blades
Platform preparation

L100NW  - Spit 4

6 Rotated cores
Platform levallois core
Notch
Bifacially worked piece (lots of use)
2 Platform cores
Recurrent levallois core
Retouch
5 Blades
Platform preparation
Notch
Convergent Blade

L100NW  - Spit 5

Hammerstone fragment
Recurrent levallois core
3 Platform cores (1 core appears to be set up for small blade removals)
Retouch
End scraper
Blade
Large convergent flake

L100NW  - Spit 6

Lots of Blades
3 Rotated cores
Long retouch blade
Preferential Levallois
Retouch
2 Denticulates

L100NW  - Spit 7

Recurrent levallois core
Convergent levallois flake
2 Rotated cores
Radial core
2 Blades
Many artefacts, although not much diagnostic

L100NW  - Spit 8

Platform levallois core
Alternate core
Rotated core
Notched piece
Retouch

L100NW  - Spit 9

3 Blades

L100NW ­- Spit 10

Soft hammer flake

The characteristic and more interesting artefacts and features found in the deep sounding excavation, square M100 are as follows:

M100 - Surface & Spit 2 

A number of non-descript flakes, and rotated cores: Nothing diagnostic of a time period.

M100 - Spit 3

Platform preparation (multiple instances)
Retouch
Nice notched piece with 2 large notches 1 at the distal and the other on the left lateral (forms a point)
Steep scraper retouch
2 Small notched pieces
Rounded end scraper
Rotated core
Blade
5 recurrent Levallois cores
Large notch

M100 - Spit 4

3 Retouched pieces – one is pointed and almost a unifacial point.
Platform preparation (multiple instances)
2 Convergent flakes (thin, look like soft hammer flake production)
Convergent flake with long invasive scar on ventral (thinning)
2 Small radial cores
Notched piece

Notable finds in the squares with only shallow excavations are as follows:

L101 - Surface

Denticulate retouch
Rough convergent scraper
Some flakes have prepared platforms
Ome cores are rotated
Nothing particularly diagnostic

L101 - Spit 2

Small end scraper
Convergent scraper
Recurrent Levallois Core
Platform Levallois Core
2x Rotated Core
Scraper retouch
Notch piece