356

Site
Site name
RA02/61
Description

A boulder located along the Wadi Raharmellen, east of the conflu- ence with the Wadi Amatus. The boulder’s vertical surfaces contain numerous petroglyphs from different periods on five panels. Panel 1 is the largest one and includes a palimpsest of petroglyphs: the older layer at the bottom shows carved domestic and wild bovids.
These bovids are partially covered by later layers of petroglyphs, both figurative – camels and horses with riders and ostriches – and Tifinagh and Arabic inscriptions. Panel 2 contains a pecked Barbary sheep on the left, a large quadruped (a cow or a wild bovid?) possibly associated with a human figure, and a recently pecked petroglyph probably representing a boat. Panel 3 displays a pecked giraffe moving toward the left. Panel 4 contains a nearly invisible lightly carved giraffe facing left, the heavily eroded lower body part of a human figure facing right, at least five carved cows facing right, and a few Tifinagh inscriptions. Panel 5, beneath Panel 4, contains the figure of a carved and pecked goat. The archaeological deposit is partially preserved, and archaeological materials (pottery) are scattered around the site.