Asgard Swamp Hand Stencils

Summary: Six red hand stencils in a fairly small and shallow rock overhang on the Asgard Plateau.

  • Site type: Cave Painting, Stencil - Hand
  • Number of motifs: 6
  • Motif/s: Hand
  • Quality: 2.5/5
  • Condition of site: Weathered
  • Year first recorded: 1996
  • Eugene Stockton & John Merriman, Blue Mountains Dreaming (2nd Ed), 2023

The Asgard Plateau – described as a “self-contained entity centred on the Asgard Swamp” (Stockton & Merriman) as it’s surrounded on three sides by cliffs – was an area of significance to the Dharug and Gundungara Aboriginal people. A total of 36 indigenous sites have been recorded on the Asgard Plateau (although only four of these are art sites).

Near Asgard Swamp is a stencil, which has six hand stencils in red ochre.

1X3A4121 LR Asgard Swamp Hand Stencils
1X3A4106 LR Asgard Swamp Hand Stencils

One of the red ochre hand stencils is very distinct; the remainder are hard to see without image enhancement.

1X3A5980 LR Asgard Swamp Hand Stencils1X3A5980 LR yre Asgard Swamp Hand Stencils
1X3A4120 LR Asgard Swamp Hand Stencils
1X3A4120 LR yre Asgard Swamp Hand Stencils
1X3A4113 LR Asgard Swamp Hand Stencils
1X3A4113 LR yre Asgard Swamp Hand Stencils

There are also some charcoal lines, which may be a remnant of a drawing.

1X3A4112 LR Asgard Swamp Hand Stencils

At least one artefact (a stone cutting tool) was found at the shelter.

1X3A5991 LR Asgard Swamp Hand Stencils
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Aboriginal Sites by National Park

Aboriginal Rock Art – Blue Mountains National Park
Red Hands Cave, Glenbrook (Blue Mountains)
The Blue Mountains National Park (and surrounding areas along the Great Western Highway) is thought to have over a thousand indigenous heritage sites, although much of the park has not been comprehensively surveyed. The Aboriginal rock sites in the Blue Mountains include grinding grooves, stensils, drawing and rock carvings.
Aboriginal Rock Art – Maroota and Marramarra NP
Located to the north-west of Sydney, just south of the Dharug and Yengo National Parks, Maroota has a high concentration of (known) Aboriginal sites. Many more Aboriginal heritage sites are located in the Marramarra National Park. The original inhabitants of the area were the Darug people.
Aboriginal Rock Art in the Greater Blue Mountains
The Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area protects over 3,000 known Aboriginal heritage sites, and many more which are yet to be recorded. This area includes the Blue Mountains National Park, Gardens of Stone, Wollemi National Park and Yengo National Park.