Twyfelfontein

Rock paintings from Twyfelfontein
National monument in Namibia
Monument type	Cultural monument
location	Khorixas
Geographic coordinates :	20 ° 35 '26 "  S , 14 ° 22' 20"  O Coordinates: 20 ° 35 '26 "  S , 14 ° 22' 20"  O
Emergence	between 3rd century BC BC and 18th century
Recognized by the National Heritage Council	1952
Deprivation
Sponsorship	Ministry of Environment and Tourism
Website	NHC Namibia

Twyfelfontein or ǀUi-ǁaes
UNESCO world heritage
National territory:	Namibia
Type:	Culture
Criteria :	(iii), (v)
Surface:	57 ha
Reference No .:	1255
UNESCO region :	Africa
History of enrollment
Enrollment:	2007  (session 31)

Twyfelfontein ( afrikaans Twyfelfontein 'dubious spring') is the name of a spring and a valley in the Kunene region in Namibia . The Damara, as its former inhabitants, called the valley "Uri-Ais" ( khoekhoegowab ǀUi-ǁaes , 'spring spring'). When white farmers settled there in 1947, they found the source unreliable, repeatedly drying up, and therefore called it "Twyfelfontein". In 1964 the farms were given up again; today the name Twyfelfontein is used for the entire valley.

In this area, thousands of rock paintings are gathered in a small space - both as rock paintings and in particular as rock carvings - which come from cultures of the Mesolithic and Neolithic and are among the oldest underground depictions in Africa. For thousands of years this place was used for rituals, from around 4,000 BC. By the hunters and gatherers of the Wilton culture, for about 2500 years by the Khoikhoi .

Since 2017, up to 9,000 more rock art has been discovered in at least 200 other places west of Twyfelfontein am Huab during research trips of the German Research Foundation .

Rock art

In the area around Twyfelfontein, a total of over 2500 images have been described on over 200 rock slabs. These rock carvings were made in different ways. In addition to rock paintings, in which color-contrasting materials were applied to stone surfaces, here smooth slabs of sandstone , it is above all rock engravings or petroglyphs in which a recess was made in the stone by removing material. In doing so, it was not so much the deepening as such in the rust-brown rock that was used, but rather the uncovering of a different-colored, lighter ground beneath the surface for a graphic representation.

In the case of the rock engravings , it was possible to uncover an underlying layer of a different color in this rusting, aged and rosy-brown sandstone by removing parts of the upper surface, similar to a sgraffito ; Notches a few millimeters deep were sufficient for this. The scratched scratches had a clear color contrast not only haptically , but also visually in addition to the shadow cast, so that additional pigmentation (as with some petroglyphs elsewhere) was not necessary to make the traces left at this point appear impressive.

The valley was declared a National Monument in 1952 after many of the engraved rocks were stolen. By whom they "discovered" during the colonial period or by whom they were first reported to the European culture is not clear; Depending on the source, the surveyor Volkmann or his colleague Reinhard Maack is named.

Age determination

It is difficult to determine the exact age of the engravings as the period can only be estimated using indirect clues such as surface weathering. The iron element found in the sandstone from those sediments that surrounded every single grain of sand that was still loose at the time before the solidification of this stone formation, gives the rock surfaces a rusty, dark red-brown color in the unprocessed areas due to the iron oxide formed in permanent contact with oxygen-containing air .

Due to the surface treatment, the images appear in a significantly lighter color, but with increasing age the contrast decreases and so the coloration caused by the engraving approaches the color of the unworked rock again. What remains is the indentation carved into the stone; it becomes flatter over time due to weathering and erosion of the neighboring surface. The speed of these processes depends on the weathering, the weather conditions and other weathering factors that no one has been able to specify precisely for Namibia. It must also be taken into account that the iron oxide in the sandstone forms a special layer on the exposed surface of the stone after some time, which is known as desert varnish and which then significantly delays the further weathering process. It is now believed that the engravings were made in six different periods. The oldest rock carvings date back to 24,000 BC. u. It is currently estimated that the most recent sgraffiti are from our time.

Manufacturing techniques

Weather layers from rock carvings

The engravings were made without metal tools. That must have been quite tedious, even if the rock slabs were probably a little softer then than they are today, as they were probably not as thickly coated as they are today with that hard layer known as desert varnish. Numerous quartz fragments have been found in the vicinity of the engravings and can still be found. It is therefore believed that the tools used to work the rocks were made of this material.

Motifs of the rock art

Engravings of the "lion plate"

The drawings predominantly hunting scenes. The Hunter appear with arrow and arc equipped. The animals depicted seem to be mainly giraffes , antelopes , zebras and also lions ; The white rhinoceros , which has since been almost extinct, is also shown. The picture of a seal is amazing , here, almost 100 kilometers from the sea. In addition to the animal pictures, which often show an animal together with its track, there are also quite a few drawings of an abstract nature. Their meaning, however, understandably could not be fully understood. It is assumed that the animal scenes were not only used for ritual purposes, but probably also for teaching children and instructing hunters.

Engraving "Dancing Kudu"

Two engravings in particular have become well known: the dancing kudu , as the approx. 20 cm high representation of a mythical creature in a dancing posture, which some reminds of an antelope like the kudu , and the lion plate , which seems to show a large lion with powerful paws , which then catches the eye with its rectangularly bent tail.

Many of the preserved rock art can be found under a large overhanging block, possibly an abri .

Rock called “ snapdragon ” with weathering of Tafoni in Twyfelfontein

Even the naturally created rock formations carved out of the earth by wind and weather offer shapes in this valley that can seduce the imagination.

Touristic

These documents of human history are now accessible to tourists via a mountain path. The rock carvings may only be visited in the company of a guide in order to prevent vandalism and further theft.

In the tourism year 2009/10 57,058 visitors visited the world cultural heritage.

Remarks

1. ↑ Note: This article contains characters from the alphabet of the Khoisan languages spoken in southern Africa . The display contains characters of the click letters ǀ , ǁ , ǂ and ǃ . For more information on the pronunciation of long or nasal vowels or certain clicks , see e.g. B. under Khoekhoegowab .

literature

• Peter Breunig: Archaeological Travel Guide Namibia . Africa Magna Verlag, Frankfurt a. M. 2014, ISBN 978-3-937248-39-4 .
• Shirley-Ann Pager: A walk through the prehistoric Twyfelfontein . Typoprint, Windhoek o. J., ISBN unknown.
• DW Krynauw: Twyfelfontein . Monument Commission of South West Africa, South West Africa 1968, ISBN unknown.

Movie

• Treasures of the world - legacies of humanity. The rock engravings from Twyfelfontein, Namibia - Encrypted stone message. TV report, 2008, 14:31 min., Script and direction: Christian Romanowski, production: SWR , first broadcast: December 23, 2008, table of contents

Web links

Commons : Twyfelfontein  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Entry on the UNESCO World Heritage Center website ( English and French ).
• Detailed information and explanations, African World Heritage Sites (English)
• Many photos

Individual evidence

1. ↑ There's something on the wall. Frankfurter Allgemeine, April 14, 2019.
2. ↑ Sandstone , general statements on sandstone at geo.fu-berlin.de
3. ↑ Twyfelfontein becomes a tourist magnet, Allgemeine Zeitung, tourism supplement January 2011, p. 3 ( Memento from December 2, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 4.9 MB)