One of Norway’s most famous historical sites of 5000-year-old stone-age rock carving of a figure on skis was vandalised. It was destroyed by a sharp object that was used to scratch along the lines of the carving. The carving, on the island of Tro off Nordland, northern Norway,  provides amongst the earliest evidence of skiing by stone age man.

The person responsible, a Norwegian youth, has also damaged other rock carvings at the site. The carving was originally quite faint and difficult to see.  The youth says he did it to make it more visible.

The archaeologists believe that the damage to the carving is irreversible and any reconstruction to make the pictogram visible as it was made 5000 years ago is impossible. It inspired the symbol used for the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer in 1994.

(after The Local)