Vérulu
Vérulu is a small area on a cliff, protected by an overhang, one kilometer from the north coast of the easternmost tip of the island of Timor . It is oriented towards the sea and is located northwest of the East Timorese town of Mehara ( Tutuala administrative office , Lautém municipality ). From here you have an unobstructed view of 180 ° over the coast and the sea.
Between two boulders, at a height of about 500 m behind the narrow passage, there are rock paintings on the coral terrace raised from the sea . On the ground, researchers were able to uncover some shards of pottery, scant remains of shellfish and some fragments of coconut spoons, as well as small amounts of burned and unburned bones. Numerous pegs were inserted into natural holes in the wall of the overhang, from which bags or other objects could be hung.
The motifs at the Vérulu location include a large, red anthropomorph with exaggerated leg muscles and elaborate headdress, a number of geometric grids in faded red or yellow, and a number of small red and yellow anthropomorphs. In the western chamber there are a number of pictures of black boats. Where images overlap, black covers yellow and red motifs. Red and yellow images, on the other hand, only exist side by side. The yellow color may just be weathered red pigments. In terms of style, the pictures in the western chamber are much more sketchy than the red depictions.
The large anthropomorph is noticeable because of its 50 centimeters height, which exceeds that of other images found so far in Timor. It stands in front of the viewer, but only half of it is preserved. The leg shows oversized muscles. A face cannot be seen under the headdress, so it only has to be shown very small, if at all. The figure is very similar to the anthropomorphic with exaggerated leg muscles in the Hawaiian petroglyphs and is often referred to as the "bird man figure " because the arm muscles are also usually exaggerated and protrude from the shoulders. Even with some Hawaiian figures, the head is hardly depicted, or most of them are very small. The image is located 2.2 meters above the floor of the overhang. In order to paint it you probably had to set up a construction
Individual evidence
- ^ A b c d Sue O'Connor: Nine New Painted Rock Art Sites from East Timor in the Context of the Western Pacific Region , pp. 19 ff., Asia Perspectives, Vol. 42, No.1, 2003 , accessed on 6 April 2020.