Massive vandalism at Inscription Canyon
Above: Petroglyphs at Inscription Canyon. Desert Dog Joe Perry took a trip to Inscription Canyon last weekend, and found massive vandalism – the barrier to the canyon was taken down and petroglyph panels taken out.
Dear desertphiles and archaeology lovers,
There’s a growing problem in the desert. It involves the vandalism of rock art, some of which are many thousands of years old.
Most recently, in Inscription Canyon someone has knocked down the barrier to the canyon, drove into the canyon with offroad vehicles, and removed entire panels of rock art.
Desert Dog Joe Perry is the one who spotted this last weekend (the weekend of March 20th). Joe also said, “I ran across a motorcyclist who saw two trucks about 2 weeks ago with people actually carrying large rocks, (panels?) and loading them into trucks. The motorcyclist got a partial description, but said they were armed so he just split the scene.”
The motorcyclist said that approximately 2 weeks earlier he saw 2 trucks, one a later model RAM and the other an older model Ford. There was maybe one or two middle to late age Caucasians, several young men, and a few younger women. They were observed carrying large rocks (panels?) out of the canyon and loading them into their trucks. In addition, they were seen shooting into the canyon. It’s possible they were local tweekers, but selling this kind of stuff would be difficult, except for the black market. However, they might have thought these would be a nice decoration for their homes. Either way, this sort of vandalism carries severe penalties. A first-time conviction of archaeological site vandalism carries a fine of up to $20,000 or two years in jail. Any other convictions entail a $100,000 fine or five years imprisonment.
Those of us who care ought to hook up with the BLM archaeologist for the area we visit the most. In the case of the Barstow area where Inscription Canyon is, the archaeologist is Jim Shearer. Ask the archaeologist if you can be a site steward for a particular area of the desert that you enjoy. You can reach archaeologists for your area by calling the BLM at (202) 452-5125.
We can also get involved with the California Archaeological Site Steward Program (CASSP).
You know me. I like to keep it reasonable. But when it comes to the vandalism of ancient treasures, I really think we should be more vigilant.
And of course, if anyone knows about the perpetrators of this crime, let us know or better yet call the Barstow Police Department at (760) 255-5111.
- Andrew Perry
Yes. On Sunday March 21st 2010 I visited Inscription Canyon and was shocked at the recent vandalism. This is becoming too common as I also noted vandalism at a small site in the big canyon near Coyote Gulch. In both cases, besides stealing some panels, there was an increase in scratched graffiti, and petroglyphs used as target practice. As a fact, in Inscription Canyon, what I believe are some of the oldest petroglyphs there, had been used as target practice with extensive damage. I heard a report that appx 2 weeks earlier there were 2 trucks, 1 a later model RAM and the other an older model Ford. One or two middle to late age caucasions, several young men, and a few younger women were observed carrying large rocks (panels?) out of the canyon and loading into the trucks. In addition they were seen shooting into the canyon. Could be local tweekers attempting to make money? During that weekend I noticed campers on the East side of Black Mountain camped inside the wilderness boundary in clear site of the wilderness boundary sign. Fortunately, many other petroglph sites and other archeological sites in the area seemed undisturbed, but for how long? I really hope the real desert dogs (3 of whom belong to CASSP) can team up with the Barstow BLM and help protect this area.
Joe Perry
That’s sad……
I wonder if Joe still has my artifacts from New Mexico and
Arizona????
Hi Dana. No, I donated all to an educational program many years ago. Apparently these get around to different schools.
Man, that sucks
[...] noticed that the Desert Dispatch caught wind of our initial blog post about the vandalism in Inscription Canyon. You can see their story [...]
[...] noticed that the Desert Dispatch caught wind of our initial blog post about the vandalism in Inscription Canyon. You can see their story [...]
Ten years ago I drove to Coyote Gulch near Inscription Canyon with Bill Mann. Now I can’t relocate it. How do I get there? Bill from Lucerne Valley Market and Hardware.
Ten years ago, Bill Mann took me to Coyote Gulch near Inscription Canyon; now, I can’t relocate it. Where is it? Bill