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Site and People records
Twyfelfontein 534 VIII
Site

Brief description of site: Immediately above the spring on the 660 m contour there is a large, flat, sand-covered mini-plateau that makes for an excellent living area. This flat area is fringed by large rock blocs, two of which occur on the plain area as rock shelters, one of which is a large mushroom-shaped outcrop and the other a squatter but deeper shelter with Bushman rock paintings. Upslope to the south-east there is an arched cave-like space with Bushman rock engravings and a rock painting. There is also a shelter upslope and on the north-eastern edge of the flat area. The rest of the area has Bushman and Khoekhoen rock engravings. The view is very localised unless one goes to the edges of the flat are and gazes west over the valley.

Though disturbed by the construction of the visitor's path and illegal sampling by visitors, there remains a great deal of surface archaeology in the form of hornfels and quartzite stone tools of every description; especially in the less-visited off-path areas; ostrich eggshell fragments and so forth. There are also a number of surviving semi-circular, circular and oval small (diameter of 1 m - 1.5 m) stone circles that have been made by placing thin pavement-like stone slabs on their edges. These stone circles may represent Khoekhoen Architecture. The painted rock shelter was excavated by Dr. Eric Wendt and was filled with cultural material to a depth of about 400 mm.
Brief description of art: Geometrics.

This area has both Bushman rock engravings (,50) & rock paintings (,43) as well as Khoekhoen rock engravings (,70) located in five main locations.

North-eastern rock shelter: At the north-eastern edge of the flat living area there is a high but small rock shelter. At the back and to the side of this shelter on a sloping rock bloc there is a collection of geometric Khoekhoen imagery - primarily 9 rough pecked-outline circles, a cup-and-ring motif, some wavy lines and half a pecked-outline dumbbell motif

On the eastern edge of the flat area there is a jumble of large rock blocs and slabs. On one such large slab, sloping at a 40° angle, there is one of NAM TWT's best-known images. This takes the form of a 860 mm x 680 mm kudu ewe in what has become known as a 'dancing' posture. The kudu has been engraved and then abraded to a smooth polish - a most unusual technique for Bushman rock engravings. A cup-and-ring motif in front of the kudu has been similarly abraded and polished. A lighter abraded and polished line runs down from the kudu's snout. The kudu's tail has been re-engraved and there are at least three geometric motifs placed partially on top of the kudu. The rest of this large image cluster is dominated by geometric imagery - probably Khoekhoen in origin. These geometrics are in the form of rough and fine pecked-outline circles, dumbbell motifs, internally divided circles, a spindly star-like motif, meandering lines, a cup-and-ring motifs and 6 very singular crescent-cupule motifs. These motifs consist of a crescent or 'new moon' engraved shape that is surrounded in a circle by 24-27 cupule-like dots, though these are smaller than the typical cupules encountered at Twyfelfontein. The geometric imagery has variable patination, showing that the geometric forms were added to the slab over time. Below this slab there is an arc of 15 pecked-outline circles, other geometrics.

Adjacent rock blocs: Immediately west of the site there is an upright rock jumble on the back, western side of which is engraved a rare human figure, two ostrich in rough pecking as well as further geometrics and a possible human footprint engraving.

Located centrally and further south from the Fabeltier is an obvious squat mushroom rock with quite a large area of overhang with a convex shelter wall. On this wall are about 43 Bushman rock paintings, named after the two cross-legged and seated human figures painted in red. There is a third kneeling red human figure painted with a single bar infibulated penis and busy drawing his bow. Above these there is a row of at least 9 red human figures. 1 standing human figure has also a drawn bow. There is a nice white giraffe with red dorsal stripe and red patterning marks on the body. Its head is white and rather equid-like. There are then 3 small goose-stepping and bow-carrying red human figures. There is a large 370 mm ?zebra near 4 red bags and 4 red human figures with Brandberg-like head-dresses. There are two large human figures painted in red. On the shelter's ceiling there are 7 well-preserved light red antelope torsos and 8 red human figures. On the rock adjacent to the shelter there are some engraved animals.

Archway engraved shelter: Upslope and behind the Zwei Schneider shelter there is a massive leaning rock bloc at an entrance to a large rock shelter that has an arched and large passageway through it. Inside the shelter there is a rock-painted equid and a pecked-infill giraffe engraving. On the massive rock bloc outside are engraved a huge 1130 mm x 930 mm bull giraffe in deep pecked outline and partial pecked infill. There are also 8 other engraved animals - another giraffe, 4 antelope with twirly horns and thus probably representing kudu, a possible juvenile antelope, and equid and a ?kudu with a rhinoceros-like snout and tail up.

Twyfelfontein 534 XIV
Site

Brief description of site: This site comprises a large overhang making for a cave-like space up to 2 m deep and up to 3 m high (but typically 1.5 m) on a large rock bloc with a sloping and reasonably extensive floor area. This cave-like overhang is sited next to large upstanding rock bloc complex. The overhand has Bushman rock paintings and Bushman rock engravings, while the upstanding rock bloc has Bushman rock engravings. This site and its Outlier - NAM TWT15 - marks the southernmost extent of the main NAM TWT Site Complex. The site is south of the small tributary that separates NAM TWT10 from Sites NAM TWT11-13. There is a good view down the valley and towards the main site complex. This site is on the 640 m contour and just outside of the main declared monument area. There is a noticeable echo and wind roar at this site.

The overhang part of the site has a very hard, gritty floor that slopes. Rain and tourists have picked the surface of this site clean of artefacts. There are stone tools further down the slope and also bone and ostrich eggshell, fragments.
Brief description of art: There are about 20 Bushman rock engravings and 25 Bushman rock paintings here (with perhaps some Khoekhoen art also present), probably the best-preserved paintings in the valley.

Overhang site: The overhang interior wall has two facets, both of which are painted.

Facet 1: On the one facet are the well-preserved torsos of 7 buck painted in red paint with an average dimension of 150 mm x 90 mm. One of these buck is gracile and may represent a springbok, while the other six are sturdier and may represent oryx, though one sturdy buck has very kudu-like legs. There is a large 400 mm x 290 mm white buck painted on top of the red buck torsos. There is also a white belly of an oryx surviving as a remnant of a once-whole animal painting. There are at least 4 ostrich heads in white paint and two very enigmatic motifs. The enigmatic motifs consist of alternating thin red and while parallel lines arranged in an open triangle or roughly arrow shape. There does not seem to be any paint nearby and it is not yet possible to say what these enigmatic motifs may signify. There is also a partial red outline buck.

Facet 2: On the overhang's other fact there are four red buck painted, one of which has part of an eland-like head surviving. This buck has dimensions of 360 mm x 230 mm. There are also three fragmentary human figures paintings. There is an upside-down nested catenary curve. There is then a central red finger-painted motif enclosing two red lozenge shapes. There is an incomplete second such red finger-painted outline. These finger paintings may represent a Khoekhoen presence. There is also a painted and partially rubbed out arrow motif and a recent engraved 'd'-like shape.

South wall: Just outside the painted shelter are four pecked-infill engraved spoor - 1 antelope, 2 equid and a horseshoe-like spoor, probably also zebra. There are two other pecked areas. Less than 10 m from the paintings there are 5 more spoor associated with little dots/cupules.

Passageway: Between the south-eastern painted facet and the spoor engravings is a narrow passageway, formed where the rocks abut. Inside this passageway 2 m an in an area that gets no sunlight and which is dark, there is a very detailed rock painting of a kudu in red with white body stripes and no apparent head. This rock painting is very difficult to see and one wonders to what purpose it was placed here. It does not seem as if the engraved rock bloc rolled onto the painted shelter either, making it seem as though the artists intentionally sought out a dark and hidden location for her or his art.

Upstanding rock bloc complex: Immediately north-north-west of the painted overhang is a huge rock bloc complex that has Bushman rock engravings on it northern and western face. There is a pecked-outline equid, 2 fine pecked-infill giraffe - one large at 800 mm x 360 mm and the other with a very short neck, 3 very schematic animals in a rough pecked-outline. To the north is a third partial pecked-infill giraffe and perhaps an accompanying juvenile, part of which has flaked off. There is a schematic pecked-outline ?equid and the pecked-outline head of a third animal. A fourth giraffe emerges out of a large circular exfoliated area of rock. There may be an abraded groove below the main image cluster.