Skirbeek III 73 MT

• Tshirundu

Brief description of site: This site is approximately 60 m west of RSA TSH2 and takes the form of a high-up rock-shelter with rock floor and steep, sloping drop-off to the ground some 2 m below. This shelter is 9 m long, low and 1 m - 1.5 m high and is up to 7 m deep. The site faces NNW and there are a number of loose rocks both in the shelter and on the slope. The sandstone is very quartzitic.

There is no archaeological deposit within the shelter. There are a few stone tools on the slope and most of the artefacts - if any - will be on the sandy valley floor below the shelter. On the slope is a rock with 2 cupule-like hollows (30 mm in diameter and 25 mm deep) recently engraved on a sloping rock surface. On a large rock on the eastern side of the shelter is a deeply engraved channel 175 mm long, 35 mm wide and up to 20 mm deep that ends/starts at an engraved hole. There is also a 'V'-shaped groove in the rock.
Brief description of art: On the wall of the shelter are a number of San rock-paintings, the most obvious being an 800 mm x 700 mm yellow giraffe with a red dorsal stripe. On an adjacent rock facet there are more yellow images - a quadruped and possible human figure. On the opposite side of the shelter there is a quantity of yellow finger dots occupying a 250 mm x 300 mm area; these dots may have been part of the body patterning of a giraffe as is seen at RSA TSH1. There are also several areas of smudged pigment. One possible elephant.