Lene Hara cave, Archaeological cave site near Tutuala, Timor-Leste

Lene Hara cave is the main cave of a solutional cave system in Lautém District, near Tutuala at East Timor's eastern tip, together with Ile Kére Kére and Jerimalai. Its walls carry 16 hand stencils painted in the Pleistocene and carved faces dated to 10,000 years ago.

The rock carvings date back to the Stone Age and rank among the oldest documented human artwork in Southeast Asia. Scientific study began in 1963 when a Portuguese anthropologist conducted the first formal investigation, launching decades of archaeological work.

The cave lies near Tutuala, in Lautém District, and is the main cave of a system that also includes Ile Kére Kére and Jerimalai. Excavations led by Sue O'Connor of the Australian National University found Holocene fish hooks made from shell and shell beads, and in May 2009 carved faces were found high in the cave, later dated to 10,000 years and published in Antiquity in February 2011.

Lene Hara lies near Tutuala at the eastern tip of Timor-Leste, in the same solutional cave system as Ile Kére Kére and Jerimalai. The cave is reached on foot over rough ground, so sturdy footwear and a local guide familiar with the karst terrain are needed. The carved faces sit high in the cave, above the excavated floor deposits.

The 2020 find of sixteen hand stencils was reported alongside the earlier discovery of carved faces high in the cave, dated to 10,000 years and published in Antiquity in February 2011. The same excavations yielded Holocene shell fish hooks and shell beads.