Last week I was unable to attend the weekly hike of the archaeology sleuths because of unforeseen circumstances. That was a pity because they found formerly unknown indigo tanks in the area of Savonet close to Pos Monton. To allow a larger group to see this find a second visit to the same area was brought on Thursday May 29. This time I was able to be present. Also a visit was brought to the indian site in the area of St. Hyronimus.
We gathered in the parking lot of the Christoffel park at 8 AM. From there we went with four cars into the park. We parked our cars close to Pos Monton. From there we went by foot. In the past week it had rained a bit on the island and immediately the park looked greener. There were several teints of green and yellow visible from where we parked our cars. A beautiful sight.
Pos Monton is a so called Pos di pia (well where you can walk to the water) or tanki. And strangely enough there seems to be water in this well all year round. And also strange is the presence of water lilies in this well. You don't see these a lot. When we arrived at the well all flowers were still closed. But even then it is a nice sight.
Near the well is a roi and in the roi is a stone dam. Between the well and this dam the indigo tanks were found. Actually it is strange that these were not known before because they are so close to Pos Monton that someone must have seen these before. And to make it even more special, this is not a single system, but two sets of indigo tanks, each set consisting of the standard three tanks, are present. And in the immediate neighborhood a corner of what could have been a third system is present. Possibly the rest of this third system can be found under the ground. These tanks are constructed with the rocks that are present in this area, Knip Formation; most other indigo tanks that I know are made with limestone rocks. The Knip formation rocks are layered and so the used rocks are more rectangular than is possible with the limestone rocks and have a nice layered structure within. This causes these tanks to look different from the ones that I know. A nice find.
Our next visit was to an impressive stone dam similar to the one that we have found not too long ago in the area of Porto Marie.
From there we crossed the boundary with St Hyronimus. The border wall acts also as a dam in the roi there; the fence between Savonet and St. Hyronimus was knocked down probably by the force of the water flowing through this roi.
We walked through a nice forest with a lot of Manzaliña trees and also some Tamarind trees to the site where Jay Haviser did excavation work in search of the indian history in this area. We saw a lot of old sea shells, earthenware and even a nicely polished fragment of an indian ax. The two archaeologists took some precise markings of some of the finds and intend to come back another time for further investigation.
This concluded our hike. We walked back more or less along the same route that we took from the start. When we came back at Pos Monton we found the water lilies blooming.
After driving back to the parking lot of the Christoffel park most of us went to the restaurant Trio Penotti to celebrate my birthday. Actually that birthday took place in April but the celebration was deferred till now to allow a larger group of the sleuths to be present.
No rights can be derived from this report.
Our track on the werbata map
A large group today; at the parking lot of Christoffelpark
One of the archaeologist, Claudia, with her child Benjamin
We leave the cars behind at the parking lot close to Pos Monton
Pos Monton with waterlilies
No flowers yet
The indigo tanks of Savonet
Fred in front of the two sets of indigo tanks
Between the two sets of indigo tanks there is a small step-up
Karel Aster looks inside the 'rotting tank'
The inside of one of the tanks - with still some IJssel stones
The corner of probably the third set of indigo tanks
A large gathering of hermit crabs (Soldachi) under the wall of the indigo tank
In the roi are large Manzaliña trees
An stone dam in the roi
Another dam - this one is very impressive
An old Tamarind tree looks a bit spooky
Another dam - this one acts also as a border wall
François explains where we are on the map
Indian site with old shells
a very nicely polished part of an ax
Earthenware
An old 'maalsteen' (muller)
A field of teku (ground bromeliads)
A tree in a pot or did it grow through the pot?
A strange-looking plant
Another one - this one is bigger and has a stem of several meters high
Back at Pos Monton - now with flowering water lilies
François and Benjamin - the oldest and youngest sleuth
My birthday was celebrated at the Trio Penotti restaurant
John is enjoying the celebration of his birthday
