Page 13 - Spring 2014 magazine

When the graffiti is actually on rock art, the
removal must be supervised by an archaeolo-
gist so it is not further damaged by the re-
moval process. Unfortunately, we had an
example to practice on in Red Rock. Some-
one had scratched initials and a heart on top

of the rock art.

The first step was to brush off
the dust. Then Jannie laid paper
toweling on the rock art and
trainees sprayed the paper tow-
els with water and brushed it to
remove any bubbles. Once the
paper dried, it was carefully re-

moved and much of the scratch-
ing was gone. The rest of the
graffiti was removed with tooth-
brushes and water.

As you can see by the before photo, graf-
fiti breeds graffiti. It is extremely im-
portant to remove graffiti as soon as pos-
sible. Last year Friends of Red Rock start-
ed a Graffiti Removal Team to address
this ongoing problem.

To volunteer, contact the Team Leads
Frank Grace and John Minardi at
preserve@friendsofredrockcanyon.org.

If you would like more information about Jannie, visit www.StratumUnlimited.com. For more information on

the Nevada Site Stewardship program visit www.nvshpo.org. We’d also like to thank BMW of North America
and Red Rock Canyon Interpretive Association for funding the training. And most importantly, if you see any
graffiti you can report it by calling 702-293-8932. Page 13