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Sam Penrod ReportingUtah archeologists are fuming with the discovery that ancient art has been vandalized. The Buckhorn Pictograph in Emery County has been defaced with charcoal and chalk.
The Bureau of Land Management is already putting up a $1,000 reward for information on suspects, and plans to try and remove the vandalism this weekend.
The Buckhorm panel is believed to be anywhere from 2,000 to 4,000 years old; the rock art was created by Native Americans in the San Rafael Swell. Now the art has been defaced, someone has written with chalk, "I love you Wendy" it stretches nearly six feet long. In another area someone has used charcoal to inscribe the name Sherrie next to another pictograph.
The rock art is some of the most accessible site for the public to see and is very rare. The vandalism is extremely disappointing for land managers.
This site was recently cleared of vandalism in 1995 during a project to restore the rock art. The graffiti went back as far as pioneer times. Now the same rock art conservator, Constance Silver is being flown in from New York City this weekend so she can attempt to remove the vandalism without ruining the rock art.
The BLM is asking for help in finding who is responsible and is offering that $1,000 reward.