Groot Vallei I 47

• Grootvlei

Brief description of site: This site 200 m2 faces NE. The engravings are located just beyond the fence and stretch up to a small, low rock shelter to the south-west and a larger krantz line to the south-south-west, where the painted shelter is located. There are also some engravings located beyond the fence line to the east. The terrain is rocky, mostly with a brownish form of diabase. There is also a lot of thornbush vegetation. The sites look to the Elands River and adjacent extensive plain through the poort to the west.

Hornfels (lydianite) lithics (stone tools) are scattered throughout the site. At the low shelter there is an abundant surface scatter of hornfels and crypto-crystalline silicate (chalcedony) lithics and also ostrich eggshell fragments. There is also some bone. There are some hornfels endscrapers that were used to scrape and prepare hides for various leather goods such as karos, bags, clothing, thongs, shoes and so forth. There are also lots of chips and chunks that indicate stone tools were made on-site and that this was a major habitation site in the past. There is also a stratified campsite with lithics, bone and freshwater mussel on the northern bank of the Elands River near the Groot Vlei homestead.
Brief description of art: The RSA GVL1 rock-engravings have a varied subject matter that includes eland (Tragelaphus oryx), vaal rhebuck (Pelea carolus) indeterminate antelope, human figures and some large animals. The rock-engravings have been executed in a scarped technique contained within incised lines. There is some pecked infill, but poorly developed.

Antelope: The eland and gemsbok are depicted with markedly elongated bodies and one buck has very exaggerated horns. The largest antelope - an eland - measures 570 mm x 420 mm. There are 34 other antelope depicted on 7 boulders. Notable is one boulder that bears 13 animals and 3 human figures. There are also 2 baboon on this rock. One human figure appears to 'ride' an animal, but this may be a case of accidental superpositioning.

Human figures: There are 18 human figures - some with raised arms - in three rows and among 5 antelope. This is a rare engraved 'scene'. To the east is a single human figure 556 mm long carrying a stick or spear. One arm is crooked.