A fun-filled day of rock climbing suddenly turned into vandalism. Now, authorities are looking for the climbers that caused damage to an ancient petroglyph in Utah.
Clueless Climbers Accidentally Damage Ancient Petroglyph
While I am sure the climbers did not intentionally damage an ancient petroglyph the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) of Utah is still not happy. The Uintah Country Sheriff's Office created a Facebook post and tagged them in it. The post detailed that the climbing bolts were discovered on November 10, 2024. Furthermore, it shares that the climbers caused damage to the Pregnant Sheep Petroglyph Panel. The panel is "located between Bourdette Draw and Highway 40 near the Musket Shot Sprints Overlook" according to the post. Now, BLM and local law enforcement are asking for the public's assistance in finding the person(s) responsible for the damage.
While BLM is clearly upset at the damage, some citizens argue that it is no big deal. One user on Facebook commented, "It isn't actually on any of the petroglyphs. It's just in the general vicinity so ppl can more safely view them. Get rid of the blm." The Bureau of Land Management had no issues rectifying the misunderstanding. They responded, "This petroglyph panel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is protected under ARPA. The designated boundary of the site encompasses the entire face of the rock containing the panel." Then they continued, "As a formally identified cultural site, certain restrictions apply regarding the installation of climbing bolts. The placement of the bolts in this situation constitutes an "unauthorized alteration of a registered archaeological site."
People Are Upset
Furthermore, experts in the field agree with the BLM. The NY Post shares Elizabeth Hora's, state archeologist for the Utah State Preservation Office, thoughts. When discussing the whether or not the climbers truly caused damage to the petroglyphs, she had this to say. "When you're scratching the rock like that, you're physically removing some pieces of rock." Additionally, she mentioned that while you can remove dust from the petroglyph, "you can't put the rock back." Along with Hora, cultural resource manager for the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, Autumn Gillard, was also upset.
"For us," she stated, "As tribal people, these are our churches.' While no one has come forward with information yet, many people online are sharing their sympathies and frustrations with the clueless climbers that accidentally caused damage to the ancient petrography.
