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<< News >> Vandals destroy 8,000-year-old artwork

Submitted by coldrum on Thursday, 17 September 2009  Page Views: 5518

Rock ArtCountry: Spain Region: Comunidad Valenciana Type: Rock Art

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Heartless vandals have destroyed cave paintings dating back thousands of years with graffiti. Fluorescent yellow paint was sprayed over carvings, thought to be around 8,000 years old, inside the Cova de la Clau in Palma de Gandia, last week.

However, they left a 16,000-year-old engraving of a horse in the Cova del Parpalló untouched.

Gandia’s municipal archaeologist, Joan Cardona, was said to be ‘horrified’ at the news.

“It would be like destroying a Goya, a Picasso or a Velázquez,” he laments.

Some of the carvings, which were discovered in 2001, have been removed and are held in various museums throughout the province, but those that remain have been declared UNESCO heritage sites.

This is not the first time prehistoric engravings in La Safor caves have been under threat from vandals. Three years ago, graffiti was found in the Cova del Parpalló, but it had not covered the rock art. A year previously, dirty blankets and hypodermic needles were found inside the same cave.

Four years ago, the Cova de les Meravelles (‘cave of wonders’) in Gandia and the Cova del Bolomor in Tavernes de la Valldigna suffered damage, their Paleolithic carvings destroyed by graffiti.

The latest act of criminal damage has raised questions amongst residents and local authorities, who are concerned about the lack of security in these areas. Fences that are easy to break down or climb over, and broken padlocks, are all that keep undesirables out.

thinkspain.

Note: Prehistoric sites in the Valencia region are under threat, see latest comment

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"Vandals destroy 8,000-year-old artwork" | Login/Create an Account | 2 News and Comments
  
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Valencia prehistoric sites in danger by Andy B on Thursday, 17 September 2009
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A LARGE number of prehistoric archaeological sites in the Valencia Region do not have adequate protection and are open to acts of vandalism and stealing, a report has warned.

The oldest of the country's heritage in the form of caves dating back to the Palaeolithic period and in some cases to the Iron Age located in La Safor district have no protection at all.

These include the Parpalló de Gandia, Cova del Barranc Blanc de Rótova, Penya Roja de Rótova, Cova de Llop de Gandia, Lea Mallaetes de Barx and the Montgó de Dénia.

All appear to have been forgotten by the authorities in favour of more modern causes such as baroque churches, 19th century buildings and monuments that are less then 100 years old.

These sites do not have fences around them and lack any form of security says the head of archaeological service in Valencia. José Aparicio.

Sr Aparicio also claims that the cave dwellings do not have as much as a fence around them.

He added that these sites are very valuable because they contain material that shows just how our prehistoric ancestors lived.

Some of the artwork found on the walls of the caves dates back to between 10,000 to 30,000 years before Christ and the mayor of Rótova has included the caves in the town's tourist guide.

In the case of La Penya Roja, which was discovered in the 80s, items found there date the cave to between 25,000 to 50,000 years before Christ and the suspicions are that they were inhabited at least 500,000 years ago.

Conservationists are calling for urgent action from the government to protect these sites.

http://www.costa-news.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3564&Itemid=119
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Re: Vandals destroy 8,000-year-old artwork by Anonymous on Thursday, 09 August 2007
Modern paints have a very different composition to prehistoric ones. There must surely be a solvent that will only affect the graffiti. Yes, there is a risk to the art, but if nothing is done, then the art is lost anyway. It's already written off as destroyed. You can't lose more than everything.

Alternatively, since the paints are unlikely to have mixed, you could place a cut-out that shields the exposed cave painting and then remove the top layer of everything else. Even if it was a layer of molecules at a time, it wouldn't take that long to remove the spray-on paint, which is probably only a few molecules thick anyway.

Keeping the vandals out would be the hard part, but MUST include superior education about ancient history and why that history is important today. Neither those responsible for security nor those responsible for the damage are going to change unless the paintings matter to them at least enough to respect them.

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