Cave painting vandalised to get a better photo for social media

A cave painting thousands of years old has been vandalised by a man hoping to get a better photo for social media. 

Spanish man pours water on cave painting for photo

Spanish authorities are currently investigating a man who allegedly damaged cave paintings by pouring water on them in order to get a better photo of them for his social media. 

According to a statement from the Guardia Civil, the 39-year-old man from Los Villares, in Andalucia, uploaded photos of the wet paintings to his Facebook.

Heritage site vandalised in Sierra de Jaen

The cave paintings, which are in various locations in the Sierra Sur de Jaen mountain range, in the Jaen province, are protected by the country’s heritage register. 

Due to the historic nature of the paintings, and the heritage protection, as stated by the Guardia Civil, the man is now under investigation for a crime against historical heritage.

Officers from the Guardia Civil Seprona, the nature protection unit of the Guardia Civil, launched an investigation in May, 2024, after seeing the photos published on Facebook. 

In Seprona’s statement, “The photographs show that water has been poured onto the cave paintings, wetting them in order to see them better and capture a clearer image.”

Water causes “irreparable damage” to cave painting

What the tourist most likely did not know is that the cave paintings were created on limestone, which contains water-soluble salts, meaning when water is poured on them, the salts dissolve.

After dissolving, once the water evaporates, a layer of crust is left causing “irreparable damage” to the centuries old painting.

The Guardia Civil, whom are responsible for protecting Spain’s heritage sites, asked residents near these sites to report on any signs of damage or vandalism to the historic sites, like the cave paintings. 

Vandalism of world heritage sites on the rise

This reaction from Spanish Authorities is not unjustified, as historic and heritage sites continue to be vandalised around Europe.

In June, a tourist from Kazakhstan was caught carving the letters “ALI” on the plaster of Pompeii’s House of Ceii.

More recently, a British tourist on holiday in Italy carved the initials of his name and those on his daughters on the wall of Pompeii’s House of Vestal.

In 2023, a young women was caught carving a heart into a column of the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa.