Plan Sought to Halt Vandalism of Ancient Art

Alarmed by vandalism at an archeological treasure here, federal and state officials are studying ways to use modern technology, perhaps even orbiting satellites, to prevent destruction of ancient artifacts.

Painted Rock, in the Carrizo Plain National Monument, is a world-class site of ancient Native American art, revered equally by Indians and archeologists. Its red ocher drawings of horned figures and geometric shapes dating back a thousand years attract visitors from the world over.

The problem is, Painted Rock is not revered enough by modern people, who have repeatedly defaced it. In 1991, volunteers removed the worst of the damage that had built up over decades, but the vandalism continues sporadically.

“We get graffiti at this site two to three times a year,” said Duane Christian, a Bureau of Land Management archeologist. The graffiti ranges from initials etched into the sandstone to millennial dedications last year.

Christian and a half-dozen computer experts, engineers and law enforcement advisors from the BLM and the state Department of Parks and Recreation visited the monolith recently to discuss what new technology could do in the service of ancient art.

“This is such an internationally renowned site, our job is to protect what’s left of it,” explained Ron Fellows, the field manager for the BLM in Bakersfield.

Site’s Isolation Poses a Problem

Efforts to safeguard Painted Rock have been ongoing, but the stakes were raised after President Clinton named it a national monument in January. It’s a difficult challenge because the area is so lightly populated, and the rock is several miles from the nearest structure at the monument’s visitor center.

The job is made harder by the fact that the solution must not be intrusive. The rock is sacred to the Chumash Indians, who hold summer solstice festivals there. Tribe members even object to photographs of the drawings.

“This will be very challenging,” said Lawrence Ross, an engineer with the state parks department at Hearst Castle, scanning the empty plain. “But nothing’s impossible.”

Fellows hoped the same “remote sensing” satellite technology that watches terrorists abroad could be trained on domestic vandals. The team was less certain, although it’s not impossible. Satellites are used to monitor vegetation on Earth. But it’s expensive, said Ross.

“It’s a great idea, but probably impractical with the funding available here,” he said.

As the research group walked to the monolith, it was easy to see why the Chumash and Yokuts tribes came to this place of stark beauty. The rock erupts from the green expanse like a solitary gray whale breaching an emerald sea.

“Native Americans were attracted to monolithic rocks,” explained Christian. Painted Rock is shaped like a large horseshoe, and most of the Indian drawings, along with the modern graffiti, have been etched into the face of the alcove. One notable exception is a conical figure that became a pop culture icon years ago. A popular UFO writer published a picture of it, describing it as a spaceship.

50 Years Separate Vandalism and Art

The damage is easy to see. Pieces of the ancient drawings have been chiseled away. The impression of a bullet appears in one drawing. Among the older pieces of graffiti is one saying “Geo. Lewis 1903.” The oldest dates to the 1870s, said Christian.

These older defacings will not be removed. The difference between vandalism and art, it turns out, is 50 years.

After that time, graffiti becomes history and the government is obligated to protect it as vigorously as the elaborate ocher drawings of the Chumash.

The team discussed installing equipment that would use an electronic beam to alert observers miles away.

The trouble is that passing tule elk or antelope could also interrupt the beam, causing false alarms. Fellows said that once he gets a proposal from the research team, he will go to Washington with a budget request.

One of the lower-tech ideas involved deploying cameras to take pictures of cars entering the monument. While some might doubt a person bent on destruction would drive within camera range, Christian assured that “vandals and looters are lazy.”

Consider the woman who carved her initials inside a heart on Painted Rock. She was caught after a quick check of the visitor center showed she’d signed the registration book. Though vandals could be charged with a felony carrying a two-year prison sentence and a $250,000 fine, she was lucky and got off with a smaller fine.