Twyfelfontein, designated in 2007, is the first UNESCO World Heritage Site of Namibia. Located in northwest Namibia’s Kunene Region, this site has over 5000 individual petroglyphs or rock engravings. Until Namib Sand Sea was designated in 2013, Twyfelfontein had been the only World Heritage Site in Namibia.
Twyfelfontein contains a spring with slopes of sandstone Table Mountains on both sides. This place receives very little rainfall and experiences a wide range of temperatures. Humans have lived in this site for 6000 years. It was first inhabited by hunter gatherers and later by Khoikhoi herders. There are over 2500 rock carvings and a few rock paintings in Twyfelfontein indicating that the inhabitants had used it as a place of worship and to conduct rituals of shamanism.
There are many engravings depicting animals like elephants, rhinos, giraffes and lions but these animals are no longer found in the area. Twyfelfontein’s connection with the coastal area located 100 km away is evident by the engraving of a sea lion.
The site became a National Monument in 1952 and was designated a natural reserve in 1986. By the time it received protection as a natural reserve, many petro-glyphs of Twyfelfontein had been damaged or removed.
Picture Credit : Google
