The Stone Ages of South Africa. 65 



account of the domestic implements of the up-country caves or 

 rock-shelters. 



The Fishhook Deposit. 



Fishhook, or " Vishoek," is a crescent-shaped sandy beach, through 

 which meanders and usualh' loses itself in the sands a rivulet, or 

 rather small sti-eam. It is situated between Kalk Bay, a well-known 

 seaside resort, and Simon's Town, the seat of the Admiralty, and 

 some 16 miles distant from Cape Town. On one side runs the road 

 to the Kommetje, on the other that of Nordhoek, and the valley runs 

 from False Bay on one side of the Cape Peninsula to Chapman's Bay 

 on the other. 



On one side of the valley is a high hill of Table Mountain sand- 

 stone, forming a very long spur, but this hill, like others in the 

 neighbourhood, is covered by unceasingly advancing and retreating 

 dunes of white sand, in places several hundred feet high, rolling 

 imperceptibly upwards over the rugged sides of the mountain 

 crags under the propulsion of south-east winds of great violence, 

 even capping the crest of the hills in the manner shown in text- 

 figure 7. If the wind veers to the east, or more especially to the 

 north-west, this covering is blown as huge walls of sand in an oppo- 

 site direction, thus uncovering part or the whole of the .original 

 surface, but only for a short period, especially whei'e the distance 

 from either sea increases. 



It was on such an occasion that there were discovered at the foot 

 of a sand-dune, advancing perceptibly to cover again the exposed 

 rocks, bouchers of unmistakably Chellean, Acheulean, and Mousterian 

 types, together with broad flakes of palaeolithic form, detaching 

 hammers (Fig. 75), &c. 



Intermingled with these were also flakes and scrapers in the style 

 and of the material occurring so numerously on the Cape Flats 

 (PL XV., Figs. 118, 120), flakers of the same quartzite (PL XL, 

 Figs. 86, 90), and, lastly, sherds of Strand-Looper pottery. 



All this " outillage " was resting on a sloping layer of ironstone 

 gravel, in the process perhaps of formation, and producing in places 

 quite a smooth floor, sufficient, however, to stop effectually its gravi- 

 tation to a greater depth. Many of the implements w^ere wedged in 

 anfractuosities of the uncovered rocks {A in text-figure 7). The layer 

 of ironstone was plainly continued under the readvancing sand- 

 hill, at the very foot of which we found one of the most sharply 

 ending bouchers I have as yet seen, and partially coated with 

 ironstone. 



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