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Geology of Nelson Bay Cave, Robberg, South Africa. South

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Geology of Nelson Bay Cave, Robberg, South Africa. South GEOLOGY OF NELSON BAY CAVE, ROBBERG, SOUTH AFRICA KARL W. BUTZER Departmentsof Anthropologyand Geography,the Universityof Chicago Nelson Bay Cave is located on the southern face namely Nelson Bay (or Wagenaar's)Cave and Hoff- of the Robberg Peninsulaon the south-easternCape man's Cave (East Ghwanogat), were probably coast of South Africa,near PlettenbergBay. Co-ordi- initiatedby wave-cuttingat about 15-20 m. However, nates are approximately 230 22' 30" E and 34? 6' 10" S, both of these caves are developed in a breccia fre- and the mouth of the cave is at about 19-21 m above quently found at the contact of the quartzite of the MSL. Systematic excavations were carried out in Silurian Table Mountain Series and the quartzitic 1964-5 by R. R. Inskeep (1965), and in 1970-1 by sandstone of the Cretaceous Uitenhage Series. The R. G. Klein (1972a, 1972b)and Inskeep(this volume). age of this 'contact' breccia remains uncertain. At The generalgeology and geomorphologyof Robberg Hoffman'sCave the Table Mountainquartzite dips at has already been studied by John Rogers (1966) 100 to N500E,the overlyingContact Breccia at 27-25? and mappedat a scale of 1:7200. Rogers'smeticulous to N700E, and the Uitenhage Series above at 100 work supersedesthe cursoryobservations of the older to N800W. Comparableangular unconformitiesare literature and makes it unnecessary to outline the evident at Nelson Bay Cave, except that the Contact bedrock suite or structure,except in so far as they Breccia dips at 6-9? to N500-90'E. In each case the concern Nelson Bay Cave. caves are almost exclusively cut into this breccia, in The present paper is based on field investigations situationswhere the brecciais unusuallythick and was in 1970 and 1971 followed up by laboratoryanalyses. fortuitouslyexposed in the cliff face in relation to a The results are described in adequate detail since particularsea-level. Just as the Contact Breccia was they are informative beyond the context of the prerequisiteto the developmentof large caves at these archaeological sequence within Nelson Bay Cave. particularsites, this same formationhas remainedthe Most of the existing literatureon cave sedimentology primarylocal source of mineral sediment. refers to limestones or dolomitic lithologies, whereas The Contact Breccia at Nelson Bay Cave can be next to nothing has been published on quartz- subdivided into three units: sandstone and quartzitecaves, of which Nelson Bay (a) The lower bed, over 3 m thick, consists of Cave provides an excellent example. Thus inter- coarse-to-cobblegrade, subangularto angularquart- pretation of this cave sequence poses a number of zite rubble set in a silcrete, sandy loam matrix. interesting and novel problems. Furthermore, the Colours of the matrix vary from white to pale yellow of sediments Nelson Bay Cave providepaleo-environ- and yellow (10 YR- 2,5 Y), dependingon the degree mental information that is related to a relative and of superficial weathering. Stratification of rubble chronometric stratigraphy, and which is comple- limited, sorting moderate. mented by several categories of faunal analyses (Klein 1972a, 1972b) and oxygen isotope studies (b) The intermediatebed, about 1,5 m thick, has presently under way by N. J. Shackleton. These poorly sorted, fine-to-boulder grade detritus, sub- data complement the external sequence of geo- rounded to subangular,set in a comparablematrix. morphological and pedological events (see Butzer Marked stratificationof pebbles. & Helgren 1972), so contributingto an understanding (c) The upperunit, about 2 m thick, is comparable of Quaternary palaeoclimates in the southern and to the lower bed (a), except that stratificationis more south-easternCape Province of South Africa. pronounced. The intermediateand upper beds of the Contact The Origins of the Cave Brecciahave suppliedmost of the coarser detritusin The cliffs of Robberg are punctuatedwith notches, the cave infilling. Superficially, the matrix of the caves and other erosional features that are primarily Contact Brecciais oxidized by weatheringor impreg- a direct result of wave-cutting at various times. nated with some secondarycarbonates. In the process However, the great majority of these features are of disintegration,slabs and splices peel off the roof closely related to lithological variation, bedding, and along the bedding planes. This appearsto be mainly other structuralfeatures of the bedrock.This reserva- in response to pressurereleases, although weathering tion also applies to the bulk of Rogers's inventoryof along fissures and cracks is indicated by superficial possible indicators of former high sea-levels (Rogers corrosionof the siliceousmatrix, presumably through 1966: Table 12), even though the great majoritymay a combination of soil and rain waters, aided by sea- well be relevant to various stages of wave erosion. salt. The quartziterubble within the Contact Breccia Rogers's frequency graph (1966: fig. 17) singles out is another matter. It is jointed and fractured but, two levels of recurrentfeatures that, also in view of despite such potential lines of weakness,now seldom their morphology, must be attributedto former sea- breaks up when detached from the intact breccia levels at about 30 m and again at about 15-18 m. Thus, whereasthe matrix graduallydisintegrates into The two largestcaves on the south face of Robberg, fine-grainedconstituent parts or alteration products, 97 S. Afr. Archaeol. Bull. 28: 97-110. This content downloaded from 128.62.59.252 on Fri, 13 Mar 2015 20:58:19 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions the quartzite rubble remains largely uncomminuted. The SedimentAnalyses Frost is practicallyunknown along the south-eastern Excluding several suites from other sites on Rob- Cape coast today, and only three of twelve climatic berg, a total of 31 sediment samples were collected stations between George and Port Elizabeth have in Nelson Bay Cave during the 1970 season, and ever recorded subfreezing temperatures.In fact the 38 duringthe 1971 season. All of these were processed mean lowest temperatureof each year ranges from in preliminaryfashion while in the field, including +1,4 to +5,30C at these same stations (Climate of determination of colour (dry, from the Munsell South Africa, 1954), and frost or frost-weathering Color Charts),structure, consolidation, stratification, must be totally absent in the far less extreme micro- any calcification or oxidation features, humus and environment of the cave. This does not, however, other organic forms, and estimated texture. preclude the possibility of effective frost-weathering The 1970 collection was subsequently analysed in the Pleistocene at times of cold, pleniglacial in the Paleo-Ecology Laboratory of the University climate. of Chicago, including: (1) Hydrometer analyses, The formation of Nelson Bay Cave was initiated using a 5 per cent solution of sodium pyrophosphate by wave-cuttingat a time when relativesea-level stood as a peptizing agent, and subsequentlypassing the at +15-20 m, judging by maximum roof elevation sand fraction through a set of standard sieves (63, at +21 m and a floor rising from the back of the 210, 595 and 2 000 microns). The samples were cave at +11 m to a rock threshholdat + 18-20 m. previouslydecalcified in 25 per cent hydrochloricacid Wave-generateddeposits are restrictedto beach sands after first removing all shell or bone fragmentsthat and sphericalbeach gravelsin the rear of the cave to did not pass the 2 mm sieve. Secondaryferric concre- a maximumelevation of + 12 m. This presupposesa tions were removed from the final residuesand their low-level entrance, presumablya large fissure along weight subtracted from the original input. The the bedrock unconformity,that has long been filled resulting textures were classified according to the with sedimentbut which once allowed storm waves to U.S. Soil Survey system, with sorting of fines as surge up into the back of the cave. These marine defined by Payne (1942). Sand percentages are deposits at + 12 m presumablyreflect a part of the given as the 63-200 micron fraction. (2) Calcium + 5-12 m sea-levelstage widely representedalong the carbonate determinationsby the Chittick gasometric south-eastern Cape coast and which is most apparatus.(3) pH and mV values, electrometrically, reasonably correlated with the Eem Interglacial in distilled water. (4) Semi-quantitativeestimates of (Butzer & Helgren 1972). In terms of C14 years the sand grain micromorphology and composition, age is substantially greater than 40000 B.P. The including degree rounding, frosting and the ratio of correlationof the preceding+ 15-20 m stage remains primaryquartz to quartzite-derivedsands. The great conjectural,but an early Eemian age now seems very majorityof the samples were furtheranalysed by the unlikely in view of more recent field-work (1973) Soils Department of the University of Wisconsin, at Klasies River Mouth and Swartklip. underthe supervisionof E. E. Schulte,for: (5) Organic The development and gradual enlargement of matter by the Walkley-Blackmethod, which involves Nelson Bay Cave from the + 15-20 m stage to the addition of sulphuricacid to a weighed sample with later phases of the + 5-12 m stage presuppose a standard potassium dichromate; after reaction the considerablespan of time, no matter how indefinite. excess chromate is backtitrated.(6) Available phos- And the cavern is appropriately large, measuring phorus,extracted with 3 per cent NH4F in 10 per cent 36 m long and 18 m wide on a trapezoidalplan, and HC1. In
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