Item RARI-ARW-NAM-GHT1-2P.jpg - RARI ARW NAM GHT1 2P

Brief description of site: The Grosse Domschlucht or 'Great Dome Ravine' is so named after the very distinctive 'dome' or Dom that tower 1 560 m above this ravine, which leads into it 900 m below. This ravine is on the western side of the Brandberg-Duares, south of Numas Ravine and north of the Amis Ravine. The entrance to the Domschlucht Ravine is steep-sided dark dolerite boulders with the basal granite also strongly evident. The doleritic section is found in the lower entrance part of the valley and extends for about 800 m before giving way to the granite. The seasonal river flowing through here comes down with some force when it rains; also because much of the riverbed is rock-bottomed. From the ravine entrance one has good views up to the Dom as well as over the flat plain surrounding the Brandberg-Daures. NAM-GHT is unusual in that it is home to both the usual Bushman rock paintings as well and Bushman rock engravings and Khoekhoen rock engravings, making for a complex cultural mosaic. The engraved and painted 'site' covers about 600 m of the entrance ravine on both northern and southern sides. Much less well-known than the rock paintings, the NAM-GHT's engravings were brought to prominence in 1962 by Mr. H. Roth, though they remain mostly unfamiliar even to most rock art researchers.
Brief description of art: The rock art of the Grosse Domschlucht has at least 4 components: Bushman rock paintings; Bushman rock engravings; the gong rock and Khoekhoen rock engravings. These 4 elements combine in a complex cultural mosaic. It is clear that these were not hermetic and separate traditions, but that they had considerable interplay with each other, suggesting a mutual use of the landscape. Thus the 'site' consists of about 600 m of either side of the ravine with at least 21 'pulses' of rock art spread discontinuously along its length with each 'pulse' varying in number of images from a single image to dozens and even several hundred. For a comprehensive account of the rock art site, see the book by Ernst-Rudolf Scherz (reference in 'Recommended Reading' section, below). Dr. Tilman Lenssen-Erz of the Heinrich-Barth Intitut in Cologne, Germany has also documented the site in co-operation with Goodman Gwasira of the Namibian National Museum.

Bushman rock paintings: There are at least 7 localities - all low down near the river bed on vertical and often rock shelter-like surfaces and places. These paintings are very faded and often take the form of an hallated red smear. Where more clearly visible these rock paintings are similar to the others found in the Brandberg-Daures, though the human figures tend to be quite large and tall. It is difficult to estimate the original number of rock paintings here - perhaps as many as 300. Importantly, there are at least three instances of superpositioning between paintings and engravings. On the southern side of the ravine, quite close to the entrance it is clear that an engraving of an equid has been placed on top of a painting of a human. Further up the ravine and on the northern side at one of the largest rock art 'pulses' two red rock paintings occur over geometric engraved rock art.

Bushman rock engravings: These are at least as numerous as the rock paintings and perhaps more so. The peck marks on these varies from fine to rough, but tending to be finer than the peck marks used to make the geometric Khoekhoen rock engravings. Engraved subjects include equids - probably zebra -rhino, many giraffe - the most commonly engraved animal - oryx, antelope and the spoor of humans and antelope. In one instance antelope spoor has been engraved immediately above the back of a small antelope in a potentially revealing vignette. There are some rare engravings of human figures including one very slender one with a buck on a broken rock. Also on this rock are 5 parallel lenticular lines; at least three of which have been rubbed smooth by people. This rock is something of an optical illusion as the 'human' changes into a 'buck' if viewed from the opposite side. Most of these engravings are made with a fine pecking technique, though incised technique has also been used, apparently to copy pecked examples (giraffe, oryx). The incision is very light and somewhat untidy.

Gong rock and flake removals: There is a very good tabular two-part gong rock at the elevated and low-walled rock shelter on the southern side of the ravine about a third of the way in. This gong rock consists of a flat rectangular piece of rock that has split along its length into two pieces. Because this piece of rock rests on a natural rock floor, it has a metallic resonance when struck and bears half-a-dozen old, patinated strike marks on its tonal 'sweet spots'. Being located within a steep and rocky ravine serves also to amplify the sound of this gong rock. At a site pulse on the opposite, northern bank and slightly further up the ravine there is evidence of stone 'tool' flakes being flaked off a rock which bears numerous engravings. Previous research in South Africa suggest that flake removals from engraved rocks may have had more than a utilitarian purpose and may have been intended as a kind of relic or keepsake of an important place. Both the gong rock and flake removals are likely to be Bushman-authored.

Khoekhoen rock engravings: Previously thought to represent Bushman 'entoptic phenomena' or geometric designs 'seen' by shamans while in an altered state of consciousness, recent research indicates an altogether different authorship for these engravings. Entoptic phenomena certainly do exists in Bushman rock art, but they display a different range of forms to geometric designs like these that are either finger-painted or they are pecked in a rough manner as opposed to the finer pecking characteristic of most Bushman rock engravings. These geometric engravings and finger paintings are also distributed differently across the landscape - tending to follow rivers and other permanent sources of water. These and several other factors suggest that these geometric images are the work of Khoekhoen herder peoples (previously called 'Khoi' or 'Hottentot'). There are at least two macro-episodes of geometric Khoekhoen rock engravings in the Domschlucht. There is a younger, very lightly patinated and an older, deeply patinated episode. The dominant image form are circles often joined into large composite motifs. That some of the stone circles have been built around engravings of circular motifs; this suggests a close relationship; even perhaps a plan-type perspective of the stone circles or a conceptual map of a settlement and people's places in it. Some of the representational elements may be Khoekhoen authored and sometimes representational elements like antelope occur on the same rock as geometric engravings.