Quarrying Poses Risk To Irreplaceable Petroglyphs, Warns National Trust.

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Quarrying Poses Risk To Irreplaceable Petroglyphs, Warns National Trust.

The National Trust of Trinidad and Tobago says it has been approached, in view of its statutory mandate, to comment on a proposed development application to conduct quarrying operations at a site located in the Maracas Valley St. Joseph.

The National Trust says it is important to note that one of the country’s rarest indigenous artefacts, the Caurita Petroglyphs, is located in close proximity to this proposed development and also close to an existing operating quarry.

Situated in the La Caurita Watershed of Maracas Valley on a 55-acre parcel of private land, it is an iconic heritage creation that still holds very significant spiritual importance to the indigenous people.

The National Trust says as a legally protected artefact, any alteration is expressly forbidden.

Blasting and other quarry operations can produce impacts that can dramatically alter the landscape by way of scarring, increased water run-off and erosion.

For this reason, the Trust stands in solidarity with the Santa Rosa First People Community and the Warao Nation in its commitment to safeguarding these sacred lands as a unique and priceless aspect of national patrimony.

The National Trust notes that the Caurita Stone the only known petroglyph in Trinidad is an irreplaceable artefact of national and regional significance given the existence of similar carvings discovered in other Caribbean islands.

 

About the Caurita Petroglyphs

A listed heritage asset protected under the National Trust of Trinidad and Tobago Act Chapter 40:53, the ‘Caurita Stone’, as the Caurita Petroglyphs are more commonly known, consist of a large quartzite outcrop six feet in height and eight feet in width. It bears elaborate carvings made by Trinidad’s First People centuries ago, depicting anthropomorphic fertility images and to date is considered the only documented rock art in Trinidad.

 

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