Norwegian teenagers could be prosecuted after they allegedly ruined a 5,000 year stone carving of a figure on a skis while trying to “improve” the faint carving.
The Local, Norway’s English language news outlet, reports the unidentified youths used a sharp tool to trace the lines of the carving with the intentions to make the ancient carving more visible.
The carving is located at one of the country’s famous historical sites, on the island of Tro, and local officials said the damage is irreversible.
“It’s a tragedy, because it’s one of the most famous Norwegian historical sites,” Bård Anders Langø, Alstahaug Municipality mayor, told The Local. “It is one of the most internationally known symbols of Norway.”
As British newspaper The Telegraph points out, the carving was inspired some of the symbols used for the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. The carving is thought to be some of the earliest evidence of skiing by people of the Stone Age.
Tor-Kristian Storvik, Norway’s Nordland County archaeologist told the U.K. newspaper the boys could face prosecution as a result of their actions.
“We are instructed by the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage to report all violations of the Cultural Heritage Act, and this is a quite serious violation,” he said.
According to The Local, the mayor said the teens damaged other carvings at the historical site and had apologized for their wrong-doings.
“It’s a kid, and it was done out of good intentions,” Langø said. “They were trying to make it more visible actually, and I don’t think they understood how serious it was. I think now they understand.”
Comments