FIELD NOTES / XSL / Eastern Africa
Somaliland
Painted shelters & granite outcrops.
START WITH A PLACE
Laas Geel, Somaliland
Laas Geel’s painted panels occupy shelters in a granite outcrop near seasonal watercourses. The British Museum’s rock-art project documents the site within the wider heritage of Somaliland and the Horn of Africa.
Read the source British Museum · African Rock ArtA CLOSER LOOK
A study in mass and surface.
Compare the protected underside of a shelter with its exposed outer rock. Keep painted figures within their archaeological and cultural setting.
An editorial observation prompt, grounded in the reference above.
WORKING COLOUR
A palette to begin with.
Five editorial tones for this surface family. Use them as a starting point for a study; they are not measured samples from the site.
Limestone paper#eee7d8oklch(0.929 0.021 85.945)
Warm sediment#c6ad86oklch(0.760 0.060 78.678)
Earth ochre#a36545oklch(0.568 0.092 47.550)
Weathered slate#657d79oklch(0.569 0.029 184.084)
Carbon ink#282b2boklch(0.286 0.004 196.917)