A truck driver was detained last week by authorities after driving over Peru's world-renowned Nazca lines.According to the Associated Press, Jainer Jesús Flores Vigo drove into an unauthorized area of the UNESCO World Heritage site, leaving behind “deep scars” in an area of more than 100 feet by 300 feet that damaged parts of three lines, Peru's Ministry of Culture said.
Vigo is expected to be charged with an “attack against cultural heritage,” according to the government-owned news outlet Andina.
The Nazca lines, created by a pre-Inca civilization, are geoglyphs located about 200 miles south of Lima. They are 2,000-year-old etchings sketched into the ground depicting birds, monkeys and humans and are thought to have had ritual astronomical purposes, according to National Geographic. Some of the large images span an area of up to 1,200 feet.
Following the incident, authorities vowed to increase patrols of the site.
“While the Culture Ministry monitors areas with the largest concentration of geoglyphs every day, it may not be fully protected,” Johnny Isla, an archaeologist with the Culture Ministry, told Andina. “Entry and transit are possible through valleys and streams where the archaeological area spreads out.”
Trucker Drives Over Peru's World-Renowned Nazca Lines | The Weather Channel
Idiot.
