Topographer Reinhard Maack, who also discovered the White Lady rock painting at Brandberg, reported the presence of rock engravings in the area in 1921.
After a few hours, the solution under the light areas of the engraving hardened, while that under the dark areas remained soft and could be washed away, leaving a permanent, accurate copy of the engraving.
The series was produced using a variety of intaglio printmaking techniques, mainly etching for the line work and aquatint for the tonal areas, but also engraving and drypoint.
There are old engravings of it from when the area was just fields, with sheep.
Rock engravings have been found in the area which date back 6,000 years and the wider area was occupied for at least 14,000 years before European colonisation.
"It is no idle boast that this is the richest area for petroglyphs [rock engravings] anywhere in the world," says Ken Mulvaney, a cultural heritage specialist with mining company Rio Tinto and the only person with a PhD on the rock art of the archipelago.
a The engraving pattern and the engraved shells.
Within them are the prehistoric creations for which the area is known: paintings and engravings of bison, reindeer and other animals made by people who lived 10,000 to 45,000 years ago.
In fact, 12,000 years of civilisation can be charted through the engravings and delicate rock paintings of the area: the slow march of climate change, the shift from hunting to pastoral pursuits, tribal differences, mysterious religious ceremonies, the introduction of the horse and finally, as the desert encroached, the camel.
Drilling was performed using three-axis milling and engraving machines FlexiCAM XL 1525 NBM PRO (working area 2580 mm × 1540 mm × 280 mm) (Fig. 3).
