Utah authorities are seeking more information about a climber who installed climbing bolts into the site of an ancient petroglyph.
The petroglyphs, which are carvings made by ancient Native Americans into the patina of desert rock, depict pregnant sheep and are located off U.S. Highway 40 in rural northeastern Utah near the Colorado border.
Such petroglyphs were designated by the state’s legislature as official state works of art in 2023, the Utah Bureau of Land Management noted, as it called them “incredibly important to preserve and contemplate.” They are also considered sacred ancestral sites for Indigenous people in the area.
Utah authorities are seeking more information about a climber who installed climbing bolts into the site of an ancient petroglyph. Photo courtesy of BLM Utah
Climbing bolts are permanent anchors driven into a rock face to be used by sport climbers for attaching gear that would protect them in case they were to fall. The petroglyph site was discovered to have been defaced with the bolts in November.
Little is known about the history of these particular petroglyphs, but the panel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is protected under the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979.
“As a formally identified cultural site, certain restrictions apply regarding the installation of climbing bolts,” BLM Utah said in a statement. “The placement of the bolts constitutes an ‘unauthorized alteration of a registered archaeological site.’”
Utah authorities are seeking more information about a climber who installed climbing bolts into the site of an ancient petroglyph. Photo courtesy of BLM Utah
A BLM archaeologist spotted the bolts on November 8 when visiting the area with the Utah State Historic Preservation Office to set up a site steward at this location. The site stewardship program enlists volunteers who monitor archaeological sites for threats including natural deterioration, vandalism and looting.
“Six bolts were discovered during that visit, three on the face directly below the panel and three more on the ledge below the site,” the BLM said. “Only one bolt has a ring attached to it. At this time, the site was visited only from the base of the cliff below the panel.”
A BLM archaeologist returned with BLM law enforcement a few weeks later to investigate further. Now, state authorities are working with the Uintah County Sheriff’s Office and reaching out to the public for help identifying the climbers who may have placed the bolts.
When BLM Utah shared its statement to Facebook, one social media user called for lawmakers to get rid of the state agency while alleging the climbing bolts weren’t installed into the actual petroglyphs, “just in the general vicinity so [people] can more safely view them.”
BLM Utah officials shot back that the petroglyphs are protected by federal laws that designate their boundaries to include the entire face of the rock containing the petroglyph panel.
The call for tips from the Utah authorities came after a woman was arrested in early December in connection with a case of vandalism at another petroglyph site in the state.