Twyfelfontein 534 II

• Zeremoniumplatz

Brief description of site: The site consists of a large jumble of rock blocks at the foot of an upland in a small valley at the head of and to the north-west of the Valley, 3 km from the main site complex. A seasonal watercourse runs around the western base of the rocks. There are good views to the north and east. The dry waterfall to the north-east is meant to have a site located above it.

In the cave section of the site there seems to be a good depth of archaeological deposit - perhaps as much as 1 m of soft, fine material.
Brief description of art: There are over 175 individual engravings here located in half-a-dozen main areas. Scherz has counted 5 handprints, 32 human footprints, 3 rhino, 4 giraffe, 5 zebra, 15 buck, 9 ostrich, 5 elephant, 85 animal spoor of rhino, giraffe, lion, zebra, leopard, kudu, oryx, small antelope, 8 wildebeest, 1 eland and 11 ostrich. The rock engravings are dominantly

Bushman-authored with some KhoeKhoen influence. There are also Bushman rock paintings in the cave.

Main image cluster: On one of the largest vertical and horizontal rock expanses is the densest and most extensive engraved image cluster measuring 5.4 m x 1.6 m. The subject matter is primarily fine pecked infill animals, animal spoor, human footprints and cupule-like motifs. The 'cupule's are arranged in single and parallel horizontal rows of, for example, 4 rows with 24, 27, 28 and 25 individual cupules. The cupules are between 6 mm - 22.5 mm in diameter and 3 - 18.5 mm in depth. These 'cupules' may represent the work of Khoekhoen herders, who also made finger paintings with the tips of their fingers and arranged these fingertip marks in similar parallel rows. Also, the five handprints - 2 smallest measure 100 mm and 70 mm - may also represent Khoekhoen work as they often made handprint with paint by smearing the palm and fingers with paint and then pressing the hand to the rock face. This engraved variant is rare. Animal imagery includes antelope (< 5), elephant (< 6); giraffe (< 2); rhino (<2) and zebra (<5). Of the at least 20 human footprints there is a huge 440 mm x 210 mm 6-toed example engraved in fine-pecked outline. There are over 40 animal spoor, of which 6 are clearly feline, 1 zebra and 1 possibly rhino. The tip of all the antelope spoor points downwards, towards the ground while the other spoor are the 'right way' up. 1 human footprint has 3 cupules in a row engraved at its heel. Many of the equid engravings have a very long snout - like some of the Brandberg's Domschlucht engravings. There is one possible phallus motif depicted on the main cluster an on the section where the archway begins there are two rows of 6 and 2 phallus-like motifs as well as a possible spoor engraving and a recent ostrich engraving.

Archway: There is a pecked antelope spoor and 3 cupules (17 mm - 67 mm diameter) and 5.5 mm - 28.5 mm deep) and a circular pecked outline. On the opposite side is a modern engraved butterfly.

Image cluster past the Archway: This is viewed from the central area within the archway and measures 2.3 m x 2.1m and which consists of 3 very large giraffe (largest 1130 mm x 310 mm) in a deep pecked outline and lighter pecked infill technique. The leftmost giraffe has a very exaggerated and thin 560 mm long neck. And is superimpose don top of an equid, probably a zebra. There is also 1 thin, 4 ostrich, 11 zebra, 2 other equids, 2 possible jackals with two of these being joined in mid-abdomen, giving the impression of a mirror-imaged animal.

Wall outside the cave: There are three distinct patches of parallel rows of horizontal lines of deep, sharp, cupule-like lines and possibly a fourth such row. The larger punctates are all above smaller such punctates. Middle such cluster is 1.2 m x 0.5 m. These I term 'punctates' rather than cupules because they are not round but tear-shaped and have sharp edges and a deep, pointed interior. They are about 15% longer than they are wide. They measure between 2.5 mm - 15.5 mm in diameter and are between 1 mm - 11 mm deep. Immediately above the inner cave and also a deep pecked outline and infill zebra.

Cave: There remains the white torso of a long-necked equid, perhaps a ?zebra, on one of the onion-skin-like flakes of the small (2.1 m x 1.5 m x 1 m) cave. There are some other smudges of red suggestive of the torsos of human figures. There may have been more Bushman rock paintings on rock slabs that have since fallen off the cave wall.

West side of main image cluster: Behind the main image cluster there is a jumble of smaller rocks with imagery such as a boulder bearing 5 pecked-infill ostrich, 1 of which has a very wiggly neck that seems to join to an animal head. Another ostrich is joined to a squarish motif and 3 possible human figures are close by. Further, there is 1 block-like animal and two indeterminate pecked outline animals. There is an heart-shaped and a square motif. On a facing rock there are 5 very weathered equids. Back of an adjacent boulder are two pecked infill equids and a long line.

Eastern side of the site: Here the imagery is most dispersed. There are 3 very finely pecked-infill equids and a possible roan antelope with very deeply pecked outline. There is 1 weathered and fat 360 mm x 230 mm eland that faces 2 fine partially pecked-infill ostriches and some scrape marks. . facing the Main image cluster is a big 940 mm x 650 mm bull giraffe in deep pecked-outline and partial pecked-infill. The peck marks are very punctate. A second giraffe and a good pecked infill rhino spoor on top of the giraffe are associated with a feline spoor. Possible third and smaller giraffe.