Langstrand surrenders a treasure

THE long stretch of open beach just north of Langstrand on the central coast has revealed a beautiful treasure buried in the sand for hundreds of years to a perceptive Swakopmund resident.

While the desert plains and small dunes on the ocean side of the main road to Walvis Bay have become the playground of off-road enthusiasts over recent years, Elke Erb always had a feeling that the shell middens near the beach might contain some treasures. When she went to the area with her family in December, she used the opportunity to sniff around.As pottery is one of her hobbies, she noticed potshards barely visible above the sand.Quad-bike tracks formed a criss-cross pattern all around the site.”One of them almost ran right over it,” she told The Namibian.”I started digging and managed to collect more than 20 pieces.”Erb, who is the owner of the Camel Farm in the Swakopmund River valley, started fitting the pieces together like a puzzle to reveal a uniquely shaped and beautifully decorated clay pot.The most unusual part of the pot is the top.The opening has pulled edges on either side, which Erb was told served the purpose of ensuring that the lid fitted tightly.There is also a spout, decorated with the same small dot-like markings as around the opening.Erb went back a second time to look for more pieces and managed to find the very last, tiny piece she needed to complete the spout.Since her last visit the area has been wrecked by quad-bike tracks, which made her discovery so much more valuable.”If I had not found it at that time, it would probably have been demolished completely by now,” said Erb.Quad-bikers have started using the shell middens as ramps.Erb has not yet found anybody who can identify the pot.She believes it to be a couple of hundred years old.The pointed base is similar to Strandloper pots, but Erb said the top part was unique.Strandloper pots are rougher and do not have spouts.The surface of this pot is much smoother and a red pigment was used in the clay.Erb has good fortune finding pots.Her first discovery was a Strandloper pot found on a camping trip near the Arandis pools in the Namib Desert.She was therefore able to compare the two.Erb suspects the Langstrand pot was fired on the beach in the shell midden where she found it, and that it cracked in the process and was left there.There were some coals in the sand as well.She plans to take the pot to the Swakopmund Museum for safekeeping and possible display.When she went to the area with her family in December, she used the opportunity to sniff around.As pottery is one of her hobbies, she noticed potshards barely visible above the sand.Quad-bike tracks formed a criss-cross pattern all around the site.”One of them almost ran right over it,” she told The Namibian.”I started digging and managed to collect more than 20 pieces.”Erb, who is the owner of the Camel Farm in the Swakopmund River valley, started fitting the pieces together like a puzzle to reveal a uniquely shaped and beautifully decorated clay pot.The most unusual part of the pot is the top.The opening has pulled edges on either side, which Erb was told served the purpose of ensuring that the lid fitted tightly.There is also a spout, decorated with the same small dot-like markings as around the opening.Erb went back a second time to look for more pieces and managed to find the very last, tiny piece she needed to complete the spout.Since her last visit the area has been wrecked by quad-bike tracks, which made her discovery so much more valuable.”If I had not found it at that time, it would probably have been demolished completely by now,” said Erb.Quad-bikers have started using the shell middens as ramps.Erb has not yet found anybody who can identify the pot.She believes it to be a couple of hundred years old.The pointed base is similar to Strandloper pots, but Erb said the top part was unique.Strandloper pots are rougher and do not have spouts.The surface of this pot is much smoother and a red pigment was used in the clay.Erb has good fortune finding pots.Her first discovery was a Strandloper pot found on a camping trip near the Arandis pools in the Namib Desert.She was therefore able to compare the two.Erb suspects the Langstrand pot was fired on the beach in the shell midden where she found it, and that it cracked in the process and was left there.There were some coals in the sand as well.She plans to take the pot to the Swakopmund Museum for safekeeping and possible display.