- Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, Vinai Kumar Saxena, laid the foundation stone for India’s first Petroglyph Conservation Park, on the banks of the Indus River in Leh.
- The Petroglyph Park aims to serve as a dedicated conservation space for centuries-old rock carvings (petroglyphs) that are increasingly under threat due to unregulated tourism, rapid infrastructure development, and a lack of awareness.
- The park will house petroglyphs collected from vulnerable and isolated locations across Ladakh, ensuring their preservation for future generations while also making them accessible to visitors in a curated and educational setting. Notably, Petroglyphs are prehistoric images, symbols, or carvings etched, pecked, or engraved directly onto rock surfaces.
- On this occasion, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Department of Archives, Archaeology, and Museums and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for the preservation of heritage for future generations through joint intervention.
- Nearly 400 sites across Ladakh contain petroglyphs, found either in clusters or in isolation.
- While cluster site are relatively easier to conserve, isolated petroglyphs, especially those along the banks of the Indus River and Zanskar River, face significant risk of damage due to construction activities and lack of awareness among people.
- These endangered artefacts will be carefully relocated to the Petroglyph Conservation Park for protection and display.
- Some of the oldest petroglyphs have inscriptions in Chinese, Arabic, Sanskrit, and other ancient languages.
Source:uniindia