BLM offering reward in theft of petroglyphs from California site

Monday, November 19, 2012  

The Bureau of Land Management is offering a $1,000 reward for information about petroglyphs that were stolen from a site in California.

Vandals used hammers and saws to remove the petroglyphs from an area known as the Volcanic Tableland. A fifth petroglyph was damaged and a sixth was removed and broken.

"This was the worst act of vandalism ever seen" by the BLM in California, an archaeologist told The Los Angeles Times.

The area is considered sacred to the Bishop Paiute Tribe. The petroglyphs date back 3,500 years.

"It was the toughest telephone call I ever had to make," BLM field office manager Bernadette Lovato told the paper of her conversation with tribal leaders. "Their culture and spiritual beliefs had been horribly violated. We will do everything in our power to bring those pieces back."

Get the Story:
Petroglyph thefts near Bishop stun federal authorities, Paiutes (The Los Angeles Times 11/19)

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