Rock paintings of Tiwanaku culture in the caves of Anzota, Arica, South Chile, have been ruined by graffiti and experts say that the 1400-year-old art cannot be restored.

The rock carvings of alpaca belonging to the Tiwanaku culture, dated to 600 AD, were covered  with spray paint. The Tiwanaku culture lasted from 300 AD to 1150 AD and spread from Bolivia into present-day Peru and Chile. The caves have been open to the public for over 40 years, since they were discovered in the 1960s, and the local council have never employed security guards at the site. The mountain path where the caves are located was recently restored by the Ministry of Public Works to promote tourism in the region, but the paintings themselves were left out of the restoration. Experts state that any form of intervention to clean it will equally affect the wall art.

(after CEN & Sunday Express)