Kariandusi Prehistoric Site

Kariandusi was found by Louis Leakey in 1928 and is one of the earliest Acheulean sites excavated in East Africa, dated to somewhere around a million years ago when a lake stood here. The tools are handaxes and cleavers, and what distinguishes the site is the material: many were made from obsidian, the black volcanic glass available locally, which takes an edge sharper than flint and is unusual in assemblages of this age. Two excavation trenches are open with tools left in the exposed section faces, so visitors see them embedded in the deposits. A small museum holds finds and a display on the diatomite that is quarried nearby, formed from the same ancient lake. The site is compact, on a slope above the road, and takes under an hour with a guide.

History

Louis Leakey found the site in the exposed Kariandusi riverbed during an expedition in 1928, paid for by a research grant from St John's College, Cambridge, where he had graduated in 1926 (Wikipedia, Kariandusi prehistoric site).

Highlights

• Handaxes in situ - tools embedded in the excavated section faces.
• Obsidian tools - the distinctive black volcanic glass artefacts.
• The small museum - finds and background on the site and the lake.
• Diatomite exposures - the lake sediments quarried in the area.

When to go

Year-round; the highland climate is mild and the site is small enough to visit in any weather. Weekdays are quiet. It is an easy stop on the Nairobi to Nakuru road.

What to expect

The site is very small and the visit short; without interest in stone tools there is little to hold you. Interpretation is basic and the museum modest. The guides are knowledgeable and make the difference. Facilities amount to a ticket office.

Nearby

Lake Elmenteita is close; Nakuru and Hyrax Hill lie northwest.

Key facts