Rock temperatures as an indicator of weathering processes affecting rock art

To aid rock art conservation, rock temperatures have been monitored at different depths and at low (30 min) and high (1 min) acquisition rates in a painted rock shelter in the uKhahlamba‐Drakensberg Park (South Africa). Preliminary data for winter (cold and dry) show that in that season cryoclasty is unlikely to occur (rare subzero thermal events and probable reduced moisture availability) and thermal shocks are improbable (highest measured ΔT/Δt < 2 °C min^?1). High amplitude (about 30 °C) rock temperature cycles accompanied by reversals of the thermal gradient have been observed to occur almost daily and hint at the possibility of thermal stress fatigue. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.