Twyfelfontein 534 VI

• Symbolfelsen “A”

Brief description of site: This site complex comprises at least 4 locales and is the northernmost part of the NAM TWT1. NAM TWT6 is a large, very noticeable rock bloc with several small overhangs located on flat ground 50 m from the eastern valley wall and has mostly Khoekhoen and some Bushman rock engravings. The first is only 35 m to the north with a very marked and deep overhang as part of a large rock bloc, which has mostly Khoekhoen rock engravings. 50 m north of this site is a small overhang and Bushman rock paintings. 10 m north of this on a localised high point are Bushman engravings. The sites are all located on the 600 m contour and are less than 100 m from the seasonal river in the valley.

All the sites show evidence of habitation with surfaces scatter of stone tools. There is also abundant ostrich eggshell, both as fragments and as rare worked beads. Charcoal is very abundant because modern campers used this area in the past, as it is an excellent campsite, giving shelter from the wind.
Brief description of art: NAM TWT6 is dominated by geometric imagery that is thought to have been made by Khoekhoen herder peoples. There are also some Bushman rock engravings as well as rock paintings.

NAM TWT6 Main site:

Southern side: is a huge but thin rock bloc abutting main site bloc with a passageway-like space between the two. On northern and southern faces of this bloc there are concentrations of geometric imagery. N face has 4 cup-and-ring marks, 2 pecked-outline circles, and rows of cupules with dimensions of between 12 mm 24 mm 6 mm. There are various straight and meandering engraved lines and one circles has two lines coming off it. There is also engraved buck spoor, which are engraved in much finer pecking than the geometric imagery. 1 crucifix-like design. Inside the passage-like space on the ceiling is a pecked-outline circle and two pecked lines. The southern face of the bloc has a very large 240 mm diameter bisected pecked-outline circle. There are also 4 cup-and-ring marks and 1 pecked outline circle with 6 cupules within it. 6 other pecked-outline circles. There are three vertical parallel rows and one another such alignment, this time consisting of 5 rows of cupules. There are another more isolated 2 vertical rows of cupules. There are over 70 cupules overall, ranging between 1 mm - 23.5 mm in diameter and between 3 mm - 7.5 mm deep. A very large, cup-like engraved depression is 49 mm diameter.

Horizontal rock bloc: immediately to the south of the leaning bloc there are two very weathered cup-and-ring marks and a third pecked-outline circle near the tip. 2 m to the east is a 270 mm diameter cup-and-ring mark and two vertical, parallel rows of 13 cupules with 20 mm - 42 mm diameter and 3 mm - 5.5 mm depth.

Western side of main bloc: there is a sloping rock with 2 rough-pecked and partial animals and a 6-toed human footprint pecked in outline. There is also a 4-toed feline pug mark with nails extended. These are typical Bushman rock engravings. Ostrich and equids are engraved on the more vertical side of this rock.

High southern side: Over 3 m above the present surface level, on the southern side of the main bloc there are more geometrics - pecked-outline circle, cupules and lines.

Northern cave-like site: 50 m north of the main bloc site at a slightly higher elevation is a rock block with a very deep (up to 4 m) overhang that is 3.5 m long and up to 2 m high. On the southern side of the overhang is a large 45° sloping rock bloc within the shelter is a 1.8 m x 0.33 m image cluster dominated by geometric Khoekhoen imagery. There are at least 9 cup-and-ring motifs with a rough-pecked circular outline and a cupule as the central point. The cupules are between 42 mm - 53 mm in diameter and 7 mm - 14 mm deep. Within the overhang is a large 3.1 m x 2.3 m slightly tilted table-like rock slab that bears at least 5 cup-and-ring engravings and at least 67 cupules in addition to over a dozen natural cupule-like marks. The cupules range between 22.5 mm and 64 mm in diameter and 4 mm - 24.5 mm depth while the cupules in the cup-and-ring marks are between 27 mm - 70.5 mm diameter and 3.5 - 20.5 mm deep. There is one rough-pecked circular line within an oval. There is also an 'exclamation mark' like pecked design in pecked-infill technique. There is a rough-pecked outline dumbbell-like motif. Some of the imagery appears to have been re-pecked or 'renewed' by persons unknown. The inner part of one of the dumbbell circles has been removed and partially polished - a rare technique that is most evident on the famous 'Dancing Kudu/Fabeltier' and large elephant engravings at the main site. Some of the circular lines also appear to have been smoothed. On vertical sides of rock table there are at least 8 further cupules (34.5 mm - 73 mm diameter and 10. 5 mm - 16 mm deep) and 7 pecked infill lines that come off the horizontal surface onto the vertical. 1 cup-and-ring mark. Nearby there is a partial pecked-infill kudu, a double row of cupules and 2 cup-and-ring marks.

Painting and engravings sites. These two sites are located 50 north of the Northern cave-like site on a ridge. The Bushman rock painting site is a very low and small overhang on the back wall and side of which are painted 3 human figures and 2 groups of 3 and 4 human figures; all in red pigment. 10 m north of this site on a localised high point is an engraved slab on which 5 giraffe have been done in a roughly pecked-infill technique.

Bloc spoor site: Immediately 30 m south-east of NAM TWT6 site is a large squat rock bloc that bears four and maybe 5 pecked-infill engraved spoor, possibly of rhino.