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Feb. 9, 2021
Ancient rock art is vulnerable to weathering, the bleaching effect of sunlight, vandalism – and microbes. Now scientists at Be’er Sheva’s Ben-Gurion University are teaming up with the Austrian Academy of Fine Arts to fight the scourge of bacteria eating ancient petroglyphs in the Negev desert and the Alps. Yes, the European mountain range.
The project aims to start with characterizing exactly which microorganisms are responsible for damaging the prehistoric rock art.
Which begs the question, how much damage do microorganisms actually do to engraved or painted rocks, compared with weathering? Anywhere, and in the Negev desert?