Peru's Nazca Lines, an ancient archaeological site and UNESCO World Heritage site, were damaged after a driver plowed a cargo truck through the sand, officials announced on Tuesday.
The driver left "deep prints in an area approximately 100 meters long," and damaged part of three geoglyph lines, according to a statement given to Agence France-Presse.
He ignored warning signs that tell drivers not to enter the area, and drove over the lines on January 27, AFP reported. The man was detained and had charges filed against him.
The lines, about 200 miles southeast of Lima, depict animals, plants and other figures in the Peruvian desert. They are estimated to have been created between 500 BC and 500 AD. Their purpose is unclear, but what mystifies archaeologists is their size––they can only be seen in their entirety from the sky. They span about 500 square miles.
They were discovered relatively recently, around 100 years ago, and some researchers think they were made for religious purposes, while others believe they were made to represent constellations.
Because the area is protected and a UNESCO World Heritage site, it's a restricted area. Some of the images featured in it are animals and insects, including a spider, a monkey, a hummingbird.
There are over 800 straight lines and hundreds of other figures.
The site is considered a Peruvian treasure, and scientists are still learning from it today. In 2017, researchers confirmed that an image they uncovered in 2013 was an enormous depiction of a killer whale––potentially the oldest image ever found at the site.
The Orca is roughly 200 feet long, and made researchers question why someone drew a sea mammal in the middle of the desert thousands of years ago.
Deep traces over 100 meters
The vehicle entered this World Heritage Site despite the road signs denying access, "damaging the plain's surface, including three geoglyphs," said the Ministry of Culture."The truck has left deep marks about 100 meters," the statement said. The security guards at the site "arrested the offender and filed a complaint with the Peruvian police," the ministry added. He will be brought to justice.
Seventy animals seen from the skyThe lines of Nazca, discovered a little more than half a century ago in the south of the country, are geometric figures representing 70 animals and plants, visible only from the sky, which has fueled one of the greatest riddles of the planet.Publicity
According to archaeologists, these lines stretching over an area of 750 km2 had a ceremonial function for the Nazca civilization. Protected from erosion by the absence of rain and wind, they represent in particular a monkey of 135 meters wingspan, a spider (46 meters long), a hummingbird (66 meters from one wing to another) as well as a giant bird, 300 meters long and 54 meters wide.
The vehicle entered this World Heritage Site despite the road signs denying access, "damaging the plain's surface, including three geoglyphs," said the Ministry of Culture."The truck has left deep marks about 100 meters," the statement said. The security guards at the site "arrested the offender and filed a complaint with the Peruvian police," the ministry added. He will be brought to justice.
Seventy animals seen from the skyThe lines of Nazca, discovered a little more than half a century ago in the south of the country, are geometric figures representing 70 animals and plants, visible only from the sky, which has fueled one of the greatest riddles of the planet.Publicity
According to archaeologists, these lines stretching over an area of 750 km2 had a ceremonial function for the Nazca civilization. Protected from erosion by the absence of rain and wind, they represent in particular a monkey of 135 meters wingspan, a spider (46 meters long), a hummingbird (66 meters from one wing to another) as well as a giant bird, 300 meters long and 54 meters wide.
