Spanish authorities are currently investigating an incident that took place in the Sierra Sur de Jaén mountain range. The region is known for its ancient cave paintings which are protected on the country’s heritage register. A man from Andalusia is accused of having damaged the historic heritage by pouring water over it.
The Guardia Civil, Spain’s national law enforcement agency, has been investigating the matter since May. At that time, a Facebook post by the 39-year-old from Los Villares got the attention of authorities because it seemed like the visitor had poured water over the paintings in order to get a clearer view and thus a better photo – the water causes more contrast and a slightly glittering effect. As the man tagged his location in his Facebook post, tracking him down wasn’t difficult.
“The photographs show that water has been poured onto the cave paintings, wetting them in order to see them better and capture a clearer image,” the Guardia Civil’s said in a statement at the beginning of August.
Pouring water over a cave painting might not seem like such a problem but specifically in the Sierra Sur de Jaén region, it is. The ancient paintings are drawn on limestone, which contains water-soluble salts that come to the surface when wetted. That salt can leave a crust on the painting, possibly causing irreparable damage.
Now, the man is under investigation in order to determine exactly how much damage he caused to the 6000-year-old paintings. Crimes against historical heritage are punishable in Spain but if the man is indeed judged to have caused “irreparable damage” to the cave painting, is is unclear exactly what consequences he will have to face.
According to Spanish newspaper El País, the Jaén region has been seeing a fair amount of vandalism of its cave paintings over the last years. As the sites are scattered and often located in hard-to-reach places, guarding them proves to be an almost impossible task, especially since local mayors often don’t have the means to employ someone to patrol the areas. A couple of years ago, the Vacas del Retamoso schematic rock art in the Despeñaperros Natural Park in the same province was vandalised with graffiti.
