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A man, whose name has not been disclosed, decided to take some interesting photos while traveling along the Sierra Sur de Jaén mountain range in southern Spain. This range is protected under the country’s cultural heritage registry. The tourist poured water over 6,000-year-old rock paintings to make them clearer for selfies, and now these images have been irreparably damaged.
Agents from Spain’s Civil Guard Nature Protection Service (Seprona) launched an investigation after coming across the amateur anthropologist’s photos on Facebook. In his post, he revealed the exact location where he took the pictures. He is now under investigation for a crime against historical heritage, according to IFLScience.
“The photographs show that the rock paintings were doused with water to enhance their clarity and visibility,” stated the law enforcement agency.
The cave paintings were created on limestone that contains water-soluble salts. When water is poured over the paintings, these salts dissolve. As the water evaporates, the salts rise to the surface, leaving a crust that causes irreversible damage to the artwork, Seprona explained.
The agency responsible for protecting Spain’s historical heritage has urged citizens to report any instances of vandalism against rock paintings.
Such incidents are not isolated
Reports of damage to historical sites have also emerged from Italy. In Florence, authorities detained a 22-year-old German citizen. He was accused of damaging a 16th-century statue of the Neptune fountain in Piazza della Signoria, as reported by CNN. The tourist, whose name has not been released, climbed over a protective barrier around the monument early in the morning to pose on the statue while two friends, who remained on the other side of the barrier, photographed him. The incident was captured on surveillance cameras.
In 2022, vandals scratched a racist phrase onto 2,000-year-old petroglyphs of Native Americans in Zion National Park in Utah, USA. This is the only location where samples of ancient rock art from the local indigenous people have been preserved.
It’s no wonder that the locations of most rock paintings, especially in national parks, remain closely guarded secrets.
