The Nature Of The Barrier Islands

More clues can be found. Along certain sections of the beach, brown dinner-plate sized chunks of debris -- marsh peat -- wash up in loose clusters. Like the oysters, the peat chunks are the remains of the early salt marsh plants that once rimmed the western side of the island. And, like the oysters, they too were covered by the moving island, only to be revealed by the pounding surf. But, unlike the oysters that have long ago lost any of their pearls, the peat chunks can sometimes contain a hidden trophy. Inside some of the chunks are prehistoric potsherds and points from the Native Americans who lived along the shores of the Outer Banks for more than a thousand years. Their traces, like the relict barrier island land forms, oysters shells and peat chunks, are just part of the changing nature of the Outer Banks.