Bolivia`s fires destroy `heritage` rock art sites
(Artdaily.org)

Wildfires that have raged across forests and grassland in eastern Bolivia for weeks have destroyed rare rock art sites, archeologists announced Tuesday. `We believe that the damage is big and wide in terms of our heritage of rock art,` said Danilo Drakic, chief archeologist in the eastern Santa Cruz department. Santa Cruz is home to numerous rock art sites, including paintings and engravings spanning several millennia, experts say. Drakic said fires that have raged since May had caused significant damage to rock art sites near the eastern town of Robore. The sites contain engravings dating from 1,500 BC. `A dark layer of soot has covered all the paintings,` said Drakic, citing an initial appraisal of the damage. Heat from the fires `has caused stones to break, even to collapse.` He said a full assessment of the damage could only be made