The ancient petroglyphs carved into volcanic rocks outside the bishops in the eastern Sierra have been recently damaged by destroyers, and federal authorities want to bring the fraudsters to trial.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is offering a $1,500 reward for information about the person responsible for damaging petroglyph panels in an Owens Valley 36,000 acre volcanic fire. The sculpture depicts a bighorn sheep, a dividing circle, and at one site, miners shaking crypts.
“The person in charge has destroyed an irreplaceable part of our national cultural heritage,” Bishop Sherilisius, field manager of the Bureau of Land Management, said in a statement. “We are determined to increase surveillance on the site and bring the person responsible to justice.”
The destroyer damaged the petroglyphs at three locations within the Rock Art Site. It is protected under the Archaeological Resources Protection Act and is listed on the National Historical Register, officials said. Violating federal law could lead to felony charges of up to $20,000 for first-time offenders and up to two years in prison.
There was no immediate information regarding the damages. Authorities shared images of what appears to be the rock face missing at the ritual location.
Petroglyphs are found in volcanic tuff formations that formed more than 760,000 years ago when a massive eruption released a settled hot ash into the area. According to the Bureau of Land Management, Paiute-Shoshone Indians later removed the red pumice stone, exposing light rock minerals underneath.
Sculptures are considered sacred sites for tribes, but this is not the first time people have gone through the area and interfered with them.
In 2008, Cal State Northridge paid more than $25,000 to resolve cases involving improper excavation of dozens of inches of holes on federal land.
In 2021, Caltech agreed to pay the Ministry of Home Affairs more than $25,000 to cover the cost of repairing damages caused by faculty and students who excavated into rock faces from about three feet from the petroglyph. Earth scientists left a 29-inch diameter hole marked with blue paint, and Caltech apologised for the mistake.
Anyone with information about recent vandalism can contact WetIP at (800) 78-Crime (782-7463) or report it online at www.wetip.com.
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