The presence of an archaeological site on Kosipe Sacre Coeur Mission was first noted in 1960, when axes and waisted blades were found by Father L. Willem during excavations for church foundations. Word of the site was sent to Mr W. Tomasetti, then Assistant District Officer, Department of Native Affairs, Tapini, and he informed White of it. Excavations were made there in June 1964 (White, 1965, 41–3; 1967). In 1966 the site was visited by Crook who collected further carbon and soil samples and in August 1967 White and Ruxton carried out further archaeological and geomorphological investigations. This report covers the entire history of excavations at the site.Kosipe lies about 135 kilometres north of Port Moresby and 20 kilometres north northwest of the Woitape Sub-District office, Central District, Papua, at 147° 16′ E, 8° 21′ S (fig. 1). The area around Kosipe has not yet been the object of a reconnaissance geological survey. Observations by Crook along the Woitape-Kosipe road, south of Kosipe and on the Kosipe-Tanipai track northwest of Kosipe along the Ivane River indicate that the oldest rocks are slates and other low grade metamorphics of unknown age with steeply dipping foliation. These are overlain, probably sub-horizontally, by several hundred feet of basic volcanics, probably largely basalt. The volcanics are probably of late Tertiary or early Quaternary age; they are strongly dissected and are not obviously related to any centres of extrusion.
Sub-surface erosion is intensely active in weathered granite debris at the scarp foot of Jebel Qasim. Powerful flushes of sub-surface water after heavy rain remove much of the decomposing feldspar partly by solution and partly by mechanical eluviation. The sedentary debris gradually contracts as the feldspar is removed and when removal is nearing completion the debris may become compacted. The compacted debris occupies less than 40 per cent by volume of the granite from which it was derived.The upper fringing pediment around this hill is mantled by moist incoherent debris holding small local pockets of water which persist throughout the dry season. Annual recharge of this subsurface water ensures intense weathering in the debris.The combination of intense weathering and sub-surface erosion with ensuing contraction of the debris occurring just below the piedmont angle may be sufficient to explain the maintenance of this angle during slope retreat.
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