A man was arrested in Peru after damaging a 500-year-old artifact known as the 12-angle-stone, Peruvian officials have announced.
The incident took place at 12:49 a.m. on February 19, when a man “apparently intoxicated and out of his mind, used a metal object to attack the stone element, causing stone fragments to fall, in six visible impacts on the emblematic stone structure,” according to a press release from Cusco’s Decentralized Directorate of Culture.
Peruvian National Police (PNP) Commander Henry Valdez, head of the Tourism Police Station, told the Andina News Agency that a 30-year-old suspect was identified as Gabriel Roysi. Police also said video of the incident was captured on nearby surveillance cameras.
The ancient stone features a perfect 12-angled border, and has become an emblematic symbol of the advanced stonework of the Incan civilization. The stone was part of a wall from the Inca Roca palace, and then used as part of the construction of the Archbishop’s Palace in the Peruvian city of Cusco. The stone has also become a popular tourist attraction.
The press release from Cusco’s Decentralized Directorate of Culture also notes that under current regulations, the act of vandalism qualifies as an attack on culture that could result in a sentence of up to six years in prison.
“For our part, we will ask for the maximum sanction because the damage to the heritage is irreversible,” Jorge Moya Coháguila, the director of the Decentralized Directorate of Culture of Cusco, said in a press statement, noting the defense will also be carried out through the Ministry of Culture’s Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Moya Coháguila told the Andina News Agency that both an administrative and criminal complaint had been filed with the National Police and the Public Ministry. “This is a heritage we all share, and we must defend it. Our specialists are evaluating the degree of damage,” Moya said.
Forensic experts from Peru’s national police, as well as technicians and specialists from Cusco’s Directorate of Culture, also took photos as part of an investigation into extent of the damage from the incident.
