Brief History: The engravings have been known before WWI, discovered by R. Maack, but rediscovered when the area was opened up for farming after WWII. Severe drought caused the Afrikaans speaking people to move into this area which had been inhibited by Europeans before. The spring yielded just enough water for few heads of cattle belonging to the settler farmer, D Levin. He tried to enhance the spring by sinking a well but it remained unchanged, hence the name Twyfelfontein (Twyfel meanind doubt). Viereck and Rudner (1957, p.24) associate the paintings with the Wilton people and the engravings with the Bergdama.
Legal Status: Declared as National Monument on 15.08.1952 by the Historical Monuments Commission for South West Africa (HMC). The Twyfelfontein Prehistoric Reserve measures 57 ha, declared as World Heritage Site of the UNESCO in 2007.
Information provided by the National Heritage Council of Namibia.