Kondoa Rock Art Sites


Kondoa Rock Art

Kondoa Irangi Rock Paintings are located between Singida and Irangi Hills in Kondoa Irangi village and other rock paintings are located at Kolo village in Dodoma. The rock paintings are a series of ancient paintings on rock shelter walls in central Tanzania. The images represent both hunter-gatherers and agro-pastoralist ways of life, depicting the changing lifestyles over the past two thousand years. The number of rock art sites in the Kondoa area is approximately about 450. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2006 because of its impressive collection of rock art. The sites are located on the steep eastern slopes of the Masai escarpment bordering the Great Rift Valley. These sites are used for ritual practices.

Rock arts at Pahi, Kondoa in central Tanzania is one the series of ancient paintings on rock shelters and hanging slabs of sedimentary rocks. The exact number of rock art sites in the Kondoa area is unknown but it is estimated that there are between 150 and 450 decorated rock shelters, caves and overhanging cliff faces. The sites are located on the steep eastern slopes, an area of spectacular, fractured geological formations, which provided the necessary shelter for the display of paintings. The extensive and dense collection of rock paintings represents and embodies the cultures of both hunter-gatherer and pastoralist communities who have lived in the area over several centuries.