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EntityQ1207527· pop 10· linked from 623 articles

Dhambalin ("half, vertically cut mountain") is an archaeological site in the central Sahil province of Somaliland. The sandstone rock shelter contains rock art depicting various animals such as horned cattle and goats, as well as giraffes, an animal no longer found in the country. The site also features the earliest known pictures of sheep in Somaliland. Discovered in autumn 2007, residents of Beenyo Dhaadheer reported the rock art to the Somali archaeologist Sada Mire, Director of the Department of Archaeology within the Ministry of Tourism and Culture of Somaliland.

Key facts

Cave.name
Dhambalin
Cave.photo
Snakes, sheep and goat polychrome with symbolic elements in Dhambalin.jpg
Cave.photo_caption
Snakes, sheep and goat polychrome with symbolic elements and other rock art in the cave complex
Cave.map
Sahil, Somaliland#Somaliland
Cave.location
Dhambalin, Sahil, Somaliland
Cave.access
Public

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Wikidata facts

Country
Somaliland
Image
Snakes, sheep and goat polychrome with symbolic elements in Dhambalin.jpg
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Commons category
Dhambalin

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Encyclopedic overview

5 sections
Contents
  • Geography
  • Features
  • Gallery
  • See also
  • References

Dhambalin ("half, vertically cut mountain") is an archaeological site in the central Sahil province of Somaliland. The sandstone rock shelter contains rock art depicting various animals such as horned cattle and goats, as well as giraffes, an animal no longer found in the country. The site also features the earliest known pictures of sheep in Somaliland. Discovered in autumn 2007, residents of Beenyo Dhaadheer reported the rock art to the Somali archaeologist Sada Mire, Director of the Department of Archaeology within the Ministry of Tourism and Culture of Somaliland.

The archaeological site is dated to about 5000 years ago. The images provide an important link to the rock art of the Horn of Africa, particularly in their representation of its pastoral cultures and fauna.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Dhambalin” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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