Archaeology Travel
Best Kenyan Safari Experience While Doing Archaeology UPDATED 2019
by Shaded Road
July 2019
|
Why Kenya For A First Time Dig?
Part I
Kenya. The cradle of civilisation. I would be mad to pass up this dig! It all started when my two friends and I decided to take part in a dig in Kenya in July of 2010, as part of the HEEAL project directed by Professor Paul Lane. By this time, I had fallen for digging and wanted to gain more experience of it and thought where could be a better place to whet my appetite for digs abroad then the home of mankind; East Africa. However, digging isn’t easy! I may make it sound romantic but it’s hard work. Most people hate it and never want to see a trench again. That isn’t me. Also, It was also going to be my first time in Africa as a child of the diaspora.
Before I begin I just want to give a quick break down of specific terms I will use in this article and others to come. I don’t assume that everyone who reads this is familiar with archaeological excavation and what comes with it. So here goes…
Kenya. The cradle of civilisation. I would be mad to pass up this dig! It all started when my two friends and I decided to take part in a dig in Kenya in July of 2010, as part of the HEEAL project directed by Professor Paul Lane. By this time, I had fallen for digging and wanted to gain more experience of it and thought where could be a better place to whet my appetite for digs abroad then the home of mankind; East Africa. However, digging isn’t easy! I may make it sound romantic but it’s hard work. Most people hate it and never want to see a trench again. That isn’t me. Also, It was also going to be my first time in Africa as a child of the diaspora.
Before I begin I just want to give a quick break down of specific terms I will use in this article and others to come. I don’t assume that everyone who reads this is familiar with archaeological excavation and what comes with it. So here goes…
How Do Archaeologists Find Sites
This question gets asked a lot. There are a few ways excavation sites are found;
1) from other people: random people sometimes come across random sites - this also includes spotting sites from above known as aerial reconnaissance. Also, farmers usually stumble across sites while clearing land or ploughing their fields. In urban areas sites are commonly found by construction companies in the midst of digging deep into the ground laying foundations for new buildings. With all of the above archaeologists/heritage institutions are usually informed of the possible sites and from there an investigation is started.
2) via old documents and records: An archaeologist’s research area may contain historical records such as maps, parish records that document a community no longer present today. An archaeologist may survey the area by simply walking across it looking for evidence of past human presence e.g. pottery.
Once a site has been found, the most important thing the archaeologist does is to map it and take photos. There maybe a long time before an excavation takes place, and this will be due to either, finance, permission, time.
1) from other people: random people sometimes come across random sites - this also includes spotting sites from above known as aerial reconnaissance. Also, farmers usually stumble across sites while clearing land or ploughing their fields. In urban areas sites are commonly found by construction companies in the midst of digging deep into the ground laying foundations for new buildings. With all of the above archaeologists/heritage institutions are usually informed of the possible sites and from there an investigation is started.
2) via old documents and records: An archaeologist’s research area may contain historical records such as maps, parish records that document a community no longer present today. An archaeologist may survey the area by simply walking across it looking for evidence of past human presence e.g. pottery.
Once a site has been found, the most important thing the archaeologist does is to map it and take photos. There maybe a long time before an excavation takes place, and this will be due to either, finance, permission, time.
What Is A Trench
A trench is what archaeologists dig in. It is rectangular in shape and first measured onto the surface using pythagora’s theorem to attain the perfect right angle at each corner (this is too complicated to explain here but if I haven’t bored you yet look here at how’s it’s done). Once it’s laid, the topsoil is removed and the digging begins, where the soil is then loosed and removed horizontally in incremental layers. Digging straight down is a no no. Test pits are a preview to a ‘real’ excavation and are a smaller sample of a trench.
What Tools Do Archaeologists Use
This depends on the type of site being excavated. However a trowel is the most common tool along with a pick axe and shovel.
What Is An Artefact
Artefacts are objects that have been touched, shaped, and modified by humans. Pottery is found on most sites and a good indicator of human settlement.
How To Dig Artefacts
Very carefully. Some artefacts have been buried for thousands of years so delicate trowelling is required. Other tools that maybe used: spoons, brushes, wooden tongue depressors, anything that does the job.
Do We Ever Break Any Artefacts
I’ve never had the misfortune to break an artefact or known anyone to, but if I did, depending on it’s importance I’d probably not tell anyone and put it with the rest of artefacts. If it was a biggie, I’d tell the archaeologist. But s**t happens.
No You Can’t Take Home Artefacts No Matter How Small
Artefacts are considered cultural heritage and belong to the country, therefore anything taken from the site is considered theft, so I wouldn't if I were you. But that doesn't mean that I don't know a few who have taken the odd piece of Ancient Greek Mosaic tile, or such - no, don't be silly not me of course....
Digging For Treasure
Depends on your definition of treasure. Archaeologists want to find evidence that support the overall research aim of the excavation. Any artefacts found that support this is ‘treasure’ so to speak.
|
Back to the dig.....
Maasai Land, Lolldaiga Hills
We arrived at Jomo Kenyatta airport and was confronted by the visa queue. I'm being polite by calling it a queue, it was really a jumble of people who pushed forward when a visa counter was free, and being British this gave me queue angst. But I was pleasantly surprised as the lack of queue system worked and it took less then an hour to get my visa. We spent one night in Nairobi, then in the morning drove on to Laikipia county – Lolldaiga Hills Ranch, located in central Kenya slightly towards the South East, where the excavation was based. Now I say ranch, but that is an inadequate description of the sheer size of Lolldaiga Hills. Most of the land that ranches are built on in Kenya are former lands that were seized from the Maasai or other tribes during the early twentieth century within the particular region. So in that context, landscapes go on and on and on. This was one of them. We arrived into camp, and I felt a bit nervous. Camping will do that to a first time camper. But I had no time for the nerves to linger. I mentioned earlier that most people detest digging and this was the case with one of the participants who had arrived a few days earlier than us. She couldn’t adapt to the environment nor the work and rather thought the dig was going to be her ‘African adventure’, as told to the other local participants. That probably wasn’t the best comment, it made them think she was racist – something they told me after she left, I protested and told them she wasn’t, we were friends (turns out this girl was an idiot and the reason why I hate Berlin!).
|
Do Black People Camp?
Now, I previously mentioned the accommodation situation, we really were camping on safari land with nothing or no one to protect us from the predators. If you enjoy camping, then digging is for you as most excavations are a camping situation. I myself am not a happy camper (yes! the term 'black people do not camp' fully applies to me!). I find it to be the worst part of an excavation, but it’s a necessary little evil due to costs/location and sometimes can enhance the digging experience. Sometimes.
My friend and I set up the tent we were going to be sharing, she told me what to do as I didn't have a clue. Twenty minutes later it stood upright and I stared at in in dismay. We crawled inside and organised our ‘room’ for the next three and half weeks. I thought – is it too late to be here? The next moment 'dinner' was called out and I got my first glace of our camp chef. He was male! I was surprised. Also I hadn't much hopes for the food either, but chef did a great job over the three weeks.
My friend and I set up the tent we were going to be sharing, she told me what to do as I didn't have a clue. Twenty minutes later it stood upright and I stared at in in dismay. We crawled inside and organised our ‘room’ for the next three and half weeks. I thought – is it too late to be here? The next moment 'dinner' was called out and I got my first glace of our camp chef. He was male! I was surprised. Also I hadn't much hopes for the food either, but chef did a great job over the three weeks.
|
Kenyan 'Work' Colleagues
The next day we were digging. Beware there is no rest for the wicked - especially on British run excavations. During the days we were up by six thirty in the morning, and out of the camp site by seven thirty. Some of us were based in an ancient rock shelter dated to c. 4000-3000 BC (the African Neolithic period) based on the pottery and stone tools we found, including quite a lot of obsidian volcanic glass which we concluded must have been traded from c. 150 km away in the Rift Valley. Other questions thrown up such as: what were the herders doing in a rock shelter in the first place? Maybe they were former hunter-gatherers in the process of adopting a pastoralist (settled) way of life?
The others participants were digging on Maili Sita (Six Mile in English), this site was probably occupied around c. 1700-1750 AD and is considered a large open air settlement. I got to work on this site a few days later, sharing a trench with one the Kenyan participants, a lady who worked for the National Museums of Kenya whom had participated in many American/British field schools. I loved digging with Celia, we just about got work done in between bouts of get to know each with her teaching me Swahili. We excavated a rubbish midden (domestic dump - glamorous you're thinking) which was dominated by bones of domestic animals: sheep, goat, cattle, but also some wild animals. We found fragments of a different type of pottery referred to as 'Kisima Ware' which may have been obtained from neighbouring hunter-gatherers living in the hills some 30 km north of Mili Sita. We also uncovered what we though to be evidence of Iron making/usage in iron slag (glass-like by-product of a desired metal that has been separated from its raw ore) scatters and furnaces. The Kenyan pastoral Iron Age, began c. 1, 200 BC years ago, and such societies would have merged into the descendants of modern day pastoralists such as the Maasai, of which one group were moved from Mili Sita between 1912-14 by the British settler government in Kenya and set aside for white settlement and farms, where today, Kenya is still living with the legacy of that land move.
The others participants were digging on Maili Sita (Six Mile in English), this site was probably occupied around c. 1700-1750 AD and is considered a large open air settlement. I got to work on this site a few days later, sharing a trench with one the Kenyan participants, a lady who worked for the National Museums of Kenya whom had participated in many American/British field schools. I loved digging with Celia, we just about got work done in between bouts of get to know each with her teaching me Swahili. We excavated a rubbish midden (domestic dump - glamorous you're thinking) which was dominated by bones of domestic animals: sheep, goat, cattle, but also some wild animals. We found fragments of a different type of pottery referred to as 'Kisima Ware' which may have been obtained from neighbouring hunter-gatherers living in the hills some 30 km north of Mili Sita. We also uncovered what we though to be evidence of Iron making/usage in iron slag (glass-like by-product of a desired metal that has been separated from its raw ore) scatters and furnaces. The Kenyan pastoral Iron Age, began c. 1, 200 BC years ago, and such societies would have merged into the descendants of modern day pastoralists such as the Maasai, of which one group were moved from Mili Sita between 1912-14 by the British settler government in Kenya and set aside for white settlement and farms, where today, Kenya is still living with the legacy of that land move.
|
Digging Colleagues
Back to Celia. Celia was one of six Kenyan participants of which three were students and a university lecturer. Another worked at the BIEA (British Institute In East Africa), two others were drivers for the project, one of whom was the son of the great palaeontologist Kamoya Kimeu. Funnily when he first arrived in camp he started speaking to me in Swahili. Afterwards he then told me he assumed I was Kenyan - from the Kikuyu tribe. I asked him why that particular tribe? Because they are the biggest tribe in Kenya, and also my facial features were of that tribe. I may well be from the Kikuyu but we'll never know. There was also one Tanzanian student who had joined from another dig in Tanzania. All together we were a good mix.
|
Kenya Safari Holidays....For Some!
The landscape of Mili Sita and the surrounding Lolldaiga Hills is vast. Digging on the open safari land was at times scary but also wonderful. The amount of animals and environmental species on the ranch meant we came across visitors who paid/pay very good money to do safari on the ranch. One group in their search for the big five (African game animals) spotted us and made their way over interested to find out what we were doing. They weren't the only ones, the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) stationed in Nanuyki (the nearest town), every so often conduct their training on the ranch. On this occasion they drove near to our trenches, jumped out their 4x4s and started talking to some of my colleagues.
|
Child Of The African Diaspora
Being on the Africa continent for the first time was emotional. However being with my white colleagues while being on the Africa continent for the first time was strange. When we landed in Nairobi it was dark outside so I didn’t really get a sense of Kenya, but the next day as we made our way out the city towards Laikipia county – Lolldaiga hills I felt this feeling inside of me. I can’t explain it. It wasn’t a 'you made it back home feeling', 'nor a I’ve been waiting for this my whole life.' It was just. I couldn’t share this with anyone, nor did I want to, they wouldn’t understand and I didn’t want to justify my emotional state to them, or down play it or gawd forbid mention the S word (slavery). I really needed someone from the diaspora to share my feelings with - only they would understand. What I did notice though was the similarities to the island one of my parents is from. There was lush green everywhere as we drove through the countryside, and this made me happy.
|
Part II
To Be Kenyan Or Not To Be?
On our first day off, we left Lolldaiga Hills and drove into Nanuyki town. The three of us wandered around taking in the new sights. My male friend told me, ‘you stick out.’ I was confused. Not by the comment, the locals and I shared the same skin tone but it was obvious I wasn’t one of them. I was confused of his voicing the obvious. It must be said male white privilege is a funny thing. ‘Obviously' My clothes are different’ I responded in all serious. When we stayed in Nairobi for a few days after leaving the dig, we went to the Nairobi National Museum and as we were queuing up to pay the cashier assumed I was Kenya and just asked my friends for their payment, as locals had free entrance. Me being the me, revealed my true identity and paid my way. My male friend then told me I should have stayed quiet. I laughed and told him I couldn’t win with, one day I was so obviously not Kenyan the other I was so obviously Kenyan.
|
Slavery Talk
We had two days off in total – a day off per week, this is standard for most British digs. On the second day off we bought marshmallows at the local supermarket on our way back to camp and really made the most of the camping environment – I understand 0.1 % why people camp now. In all seriousness, having a camp fire made the camping experience for me, it was my first time sitting round one unless you count burning the guy at Guy Fawkes, or the fires my friends and I use to make for fun while younger. One night Celia was sitting next to me, and quietly asked where are you from?’ When I told her she wanted to know how my family arrived in the Caribbean. I told her via slavery but I whispered it making sure my white colleagues couldn’t hear. There was so much more I wanted to say but I didn’t. White people and slavery just don’t mix! Ironic really. But seriously, talking about slavery while in the vicinity of white people makes me awkward, I shouldn’t feel this way but I do. This is slowly starting to dissipate but that night, at that camp fire it reared it’s ugly head. The next morning one of my annoying male colleagues mentioned in an indignant tone (if only i was making this up) that people were ‘whispering about slavery around campfire’. He could only be talking about me, but why did he care? Did he want to be part of it? Maybe I should have spoken louder? Maybe that was my chance to have an open dialogue with a white person. But who really wants to talk about slavery at 6.30 am in the morning?
Lolldaiga Ranch Animals
As mentioned before being on Lolldaiga was like being on a safari. We would wake up each morning unzip our tent, look upon the horizon and spot giraffes, antelope, elephants, zebras and many more. One afternoon while on Maili Sita we noticed a herd of elephants in the near distance shepherding a few calves. We were in dangerous territory – females elephants are notorious for protecting their young and will attack when think they are threatened. We didn’t make a sound as we watched them make their way across the savanna.
There were other occasions where the animals got the better of us – night times were the worst. Lions would constantly roar into the night letting us know they were in close proximity to the camp. The first few nights I couldn’t sleep and would wake up anxious. However, I eventually got over this and learnt to live with them, I was in their environment after all. Although one morning we left camp, steadily driving along the track when one of the Tanzanian students shouted ‘simba’ and pointed. Simba is Swahili for lion. We stopped and watched as these magnificent beasts made their way in the direction of our camp. We hoped that really wasn’t the case as there were some people who stayed back to do some pottery analysis. We watched as the lioness was in front with the male following behind. They paid us no mind. We continued on our journey and settle down to work a few miles from where we spotted them. Were. We. Really. Still. Continuing. To. Work. In. Such Proximity? That was a resounding yes! I asked one of the Kenyans the protocol if a lion approached us. ‘Don’t run’! Is that it. ‘Anything else’? The whole day my nerves were a mess, I would constantly look over my shoulder expecting to see simba approaching.
When not being scared of simba, spotting the Big Five game animals was our target. I only managed to spot the Big Four – elephant, buffalo, rhino, lion and missed out on the leopard. We tried to our best to catch a glimpse of one – oh we tried. Even to the point of taking night time range drives. But no such luck. Coincidentally using the great outdoors as a toilet during these night range drives wasn't much of an adrenaline rush as you'd think it'd be. In fact it was petrifying, so much so I barely gave myself time to make myself modest again before jumping into the van.
There were other occasions where the animals got the better of us – night times were the worst. Lions would constantly roar into the night letting us know they were in close proximity to the camp. The first few nights I couldn’t sleep and would wake up anxious. However, I eventually got over this and learnt to live with them, I was in their environment after all. Although one morning we left camp, steadily driving along the track when one of the Tanzanian students shouted ‘simba’ and pointed. Simba is Swahili for lion. We stopped and watched as these magnificent beasts made their way in the direction of our camp. We hoped that really wasn’t the case as there were some people who stayed back to do some pottery analysis. We watched as the lioness was in front with the male following behind. They paid us no mind. We continued on our journey and settle down to work a few miles from where we spotted them. Were. We. Really. Still. Continuing. To. Work. In. Such Proximity? That was a resounding yes! I asked one of the Kenyans the protocol if a lion approached us. ‘Don’t run’! Is that it. ‘Anything else’? The whole day my nerves were a mess, I would constantly look over my shoulder expecting to see simba approaching.
When not being scared of simba, spotting the Big Five game animals was our target. I only managed to spot the Big Four – elephant, buffalo, rhino, lion and missed out on the leopard. We tried to our best to catch a glimpse of one – oh we tried. Even to the point of taking night time range drives. But no such luck. Coincidentally using the great outdoors as a toilet during these night range drives wasn't much of an adrenaline rush as you'd think it'd be. In fact it was petrifying, so much so I barely gave myself time to make myself modest again before jumping into the van.
Kenyan Sun Downers
The last week of the dig we did some test pitting in another location away from Mili Sita. As we were measuring the test pits out we were suddenly surrounded by cattle. A farmer was leading his herd and we were in his way. We had to manoeuvre out tapes around and over the cattle while making sure they didn’t trample the dug test pits. Be prepared for anything while digging.
As it was our last week we planned to spend one of our sun downs on a neighbouring ranch where supposedly Pride Rock from Lion King was based. I don’t how true this is, but I just like the sound of ‘I sun downed on Pride Rock’…..or what could have been. Now it’s your turn to google ‘is pride rock real?'
As it was our last week we planned to spend one of our sun downs on a neighbouring ranch where supposedly Pride Rock from Lion King was based. I don’t how true this is, but I just like the sound of ‘I sun downed on Pride Rock’…..or what could have been. Now it’s your turn to google ‘is pride rock real?'
Want to know more about HEEAL or the Lolldaigo Hills ranch click here;
https://www.york.ac.uk/archaeology/research/current-projects/heeal/
http://www.lolldaiga.com/
https://www.york.ac.uk/archaeology/research/current-projects/heeal/
http://www.lolldaiga.com/
|