Skirbeek I 73 MT

• Tshirundu
• Tombo-la-Thudwa

Brief description of site: This site consists of a very large NNE facing split sandstone boulder with a low inner tunnel and alcove and large rock in the centre of the site. The site has a sloping rock floor with small pockets of archaeological deposits immediately within the alcove and tunnel. The site is on the 540m contour and has a good view of the surrounding localised countryside. The immediate landscape is intricate and offers a variety of ecotonal niches and ecological resources.

The site is immediately adjacent to a hilltop stone-walled Iron Age settlement that was occupied into historic times. The large central rock has abraded patches and 11 grinding hollows - probably of Iron Age origin - that measure from 20.5 mm in diameter to 60.5 mm and from 1 mm in depth to 10 mm. There are a few lithics (stone tools) located on the surface of the site including flakes - general purpose tools; scrapers - used to work leather and adzes - used to work wood. There are also chips and chunks left from the manufacturing process and which tell us that Skirbeek I was a favoured home or living site of the San (Bushmen) and Khoe (Khoi) in times past. There is no bone preserved and no ostrich eggshell was observed. There may be pockets of archaeological deposit among the rocks but generally not.
Brief description of art: Giraffes.

The RSA TSH1 rock-paintings fall into two major rock-art traditions - that of the San and that of the Khoe:

San rock-paintings: The dominant San rock-paintings are two giraffe painted in red outline with an internal body pattern made of red finger dots. These painted giraffe measure 450 mm x 370 mm and 470 mm x 410 mm. These paintings exhibit fine detail in the form of ears, hair brush as the end of the tails and horns.

Khoe rock-paintings: The Khoe rock-painting tradition consists of finger-painted geometric and rare representational images. At Skirbeek in the alcove on the ceiling is a 690 mm long twin, parallel line of red finger painted lines, each 80 mm thick. There are also red fingerdots. There are further red and one white paint smudges.