Yuma, Ariz. – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Colorado River District Yuma Field Office is investigating the vandalism of an archaeological site north of Blythe, California. The site is rich in Native American petroglyphs and was recently vandalized with blue spray paint. Some of the more identifiable spray paint images include a horse or unicorn head, several smiley faces, and what appears to be a marijuana leaf. “Sosa,” “B+C,” and the number “625” were also spray painted at the site.
Many archaeological remains left by prehistoric peoples are visible at the site, but the most predominant are the petroglyphs. Petroglyphs are designs or figures which have been pecked or scratched into rock surfaces. Other features at the site include sleeping circles, geoglyphs, and rock alignments. Read more.
Six different Israeli ministries invested nearly $2 million to repair damage, much of it irreversible, after unknown vandals in October 2009 assaulted the site, designated by UNESCO (United Nations Science and Culture Organization) as a world’s cultural heritage.
Three other Nabatean cities in the Negev have the same status, and unusual recognition that is credited to the discovery of some of the oldest Byzantine churches.
The vandals managed it pull down columns that stood for centuries, and they left behind damage that “never before has been seen in Israel,” according to the Nature and Parks Authority’s southern district official, Raviv Shapiro.
The staff at Avdat was shocked to discover that stones had been smashed, and graffiti was scrawled on an altar, on one of the oldest wine presses in Israel and on walls over a large area. Read more.
CORNVILLE, AZ (CBS5) - Yavapai County authorities are looking for leads into a case of vandalism at a Native American archaeological site in Cornville.
A state parks site steward alerted sheriff’s deputies to the incident on Nov. 20. The archaeological site is located near the intersection of Sugarloaf Road and Loy Road in Cornville and owned by a conservancy. The land surrounding the site is fenced and gated and marked with a “No Trespassing” sign.
The steward found at least two fresh holes along with a dirt strainer, digging tools and a bucket nearby, YCSO said. There was also damage to two archaeological pottery pots. Read more.
WORK is underway to return boulders stolen from historical sites in A’ali by saboteurs to set up roadblocks during clashes with police.
Masked youths had cut the barbed wire fence surrounding the village’s burial mounds earlier this month, took the boulders and used them to block roads.
Some of the historical boulders have also been broken into smaller pieces when they were removed from the streets by cleaning companies, the GDN earlier reported.
The Culture Ministry has started the process to return them to their original location before the sites get re-fenced to ensure no further trespassing takes place.
However, officials are worried the sites would be desecrated again as it would be easy for the youths to remove the fence.
They are urging community leaders to take a stand against acts of vandalism to ensure that Bahrain’s most valuable historic site are protected. Read more.
SANTA CLARA — The Bureau of Land Management is responding to vandalism at rock art sites located on public lands, including the archaeological and historic site of Land Hill.
Land Hill is part of the Santa Clara River Reserve – a 6,500-acre area of public land collaboratively managed by BLM and the cities of Ivins and Santa Clara, in part to protect the many prehistoric sites found there, including a high concentration of rock art sites that are preserved on those lands.
The BLM’s St. George Field Office has increased its monitoring efforts, is educating the public about these fragile cultural resource sites, and is pointing out the legal consequences of vandalism activities.
The many petroglyph panels of the Land Hill site reflect the stories and beliefs of the Native Americans who inhabited the area along the Santa Clara River as long as 5,000 years ago. Read more.
LAHORE: Sergeant Barry of the Indian British Army etched his name, regiment number and birth place on a white marble pillar at Emperor Akbar’s Diwan-i-Khaas at the Lahore Fort in 1886. It is one of the oldest surviving examples of vandalism at the city’s iconic monument.
There are several other carvings by soldiers of their names and regiments in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, likely made as they convalesced from their wounds at the makeshift hospital the British had turned the Fort into at the time. But it is modern-day vandalism that most vexes the current custodians of the Fort, the Archaeology Department.
“We catch three or four visitors scribbling daily,” said Afzal Khan, the deputy director of the Archaeology Department. They often write their name and the date, or a girl’s name and her cell phone number (they’re usually incorrect), he said.
Though there are laws mandating prison terms and fines for scribbling on historical monuments, they remain unused. Instead, the department has decided that increasing restrictions on public access is the best way to protect the buildings. Read more.
SUMTER, SC — The Department of Natural Resources is investigating vandalism at an Indian mound in Manchester State Forest southwest of Sumter.
The Sumter Item reported Thursday that officials discovered that someone dug into a mound behind a fenced-in portion of the forest.
State Forestry Commission spokesman Scott Hawkins says the mounds are behind locked gates and not viewable on forest maps in order to protect them. He says they have turned the investigation over to the Natural Resources Department.
State Archeologist Jonathan Leader of University of South Carolina says the mounds are very important historical markers. He said the mounds were used by many Native American groups for rituals, burials, temples or dwellings and the damage hampers a better understanding of that culture. (source)
HAMA, (SANA) – Several archeological sites in the ancient city of Apamea were vandalized and pillaged by groups taking advantage of the events in Syria to excavate secretly, dig randomly and steal artifacts in secret, damaging several finds including a mosaic and the crown of a column in the middle of the city.
Head of Hama Archeology Department Abdelkader Firzat called on locals to report those who commit such acts of vandalism and robbery, adding that Apamea became a target for such crimes due to its wealth of historical periods and its large size.
He pointed out that secret excavations and random digging often damages the structure of the entire site, noting that some saboteurs attacked the guards of those sites and threatened to kill them if they tried to stop them from committing their crimes. (source)
