On Thursday January 15, 2015, the archaeology sleuths went way back in time. The target was Seru di kueba in the former plantation of Sint Hyronimus, although the area is commonly known as Wacao. This mountain is known for its fossils. The rock is formed underwater in the Eocene period and contains a lot of fossils. These fossils are at least 33.9 million years old (end of eocene periode) but can be as old as 56 million years (start of eoceen period). The mountain contains a lot of shallow caves, the sides of which look like compressed sandstone.
We had permission from the owners of the plantation and there were no shooting exercises in the area. We entered the plantation through the gate, changed into the 4x4 cars of some of the sleuths and drove in the direction of the mountain. Luckily the dirtroad was in good condition and we could easily reach the top of the Seru di Kueba. There we parked our cars and started our hike.
We descended along the South-Eastern side of the mountain; rather steep but doable. Greatest problem was the unstable underground and rocks that easily crumbled under our weight. We took our first break to enjoy the view and to eat coconut and apple. At some locations there was an abundance of fossils while at other places we found none. We continued our hike through a roi; there we saw many fossils. Then once again uphill where we took another break on a small subtop. We had to keep our bags close to us to prevent them from rolling down the hill. At this point we split; Karel, Fred and I went via a different route than the others. At one point along that route we could clearly smell bats. A short time later we found a small opening that probably was the entrance/exit of a small cave. The opening was too small for us to enter the cave. Interestingly enough the ceiling of this cave was white and consisted of phosphate. We didin't see any bats though.
The two groups came together on the top where our cars were parked. From there we drove first in the direction of the coast to check an old observation post, probably in use during the shooting exercises, and then went back to the entrance where the other cars were parked. After thanking the owners for the permission to enter the area we went to Dokterstuin where we celebrated Eddy's birthday with a nice meal and drinks.
No rights can be derived from this report
Our track over the Seru di kueba
François is looking at one of the two Piedra Grandi (large rocks)
On the smaller of the two Piedra Grandi these two Warawara's are looking at us
We start our descend of the Seru di kueba
Along the slope there are numerous small caves
The material looks like sandstone
Young plant; the lower two orange leaves are called cotyledons
Art by nature
This mountain is known for its fossils; these date from the Eoceen, more than 33.9 million years old
Another fossil
Our first break
This is where we came from when starting our hike
Fred is preparing a coconut for us
Walking through a roi
Fossil shell
Deer or goat
And more fossils in the rock
This hermit crab is carrying a special shell
The inner structure of a leaf
The largest fossil we found
Another break; a bit dangerous location
Fred, Karel and I took a different route and found this bat cave
The side of the bat cave
Very special fossil; it looks like fern spores printed in a fossil shell
Seru_di_kueba_20150115_051
A large Century plant on the slope
Almost back where we started
My car is giving shade to the tired sleuths
