Gabriola Petroglyphs
Detailed Project Report
Other Petroglyph Links
There are
more than seventy known petroglyphs on Gabriola
and surrounding islands. Carved into large sheets of sandstone bedrock, or
on isolated boulders, they occur in groups and singly...some
at the tide line, others, well back from the shore, or on hillsides above.
Some are deeply incised, others barely legible. Some are realistic, others
are combinations of human and animal shapes. Still others are indecipherable,
or give rise to arguments about their intent. Most lay hidden under layers
of soil and moss until the 1970s, when they began to be uncovered by home-builders,
loggers, and road construction. Several have come to light recently...probably
many more remain hidden.
We do not know when they were carved...some, perhaps, as recently
as 100 years ago, while others may date from the earliest occupation of
the island...2,000 years ago or more. We do have some idea how
they were carved (from observations made elsewhere on the coast in the
19th century). An outline of the carving was first "pecked" out on
soft sandstone as a series of small holes, using a sharp pebble.
After the outline was complete, the holes were joined into a groove by
abrading the stone between them, possibly with the same sharp pebble.
In 1996, the Gabriola Historical and Museum Society, with other groups both on and
off Gabriola, became increasingly concerned about the condition of the islands'
petroglyphs. The soft sandstone on which they are found is exposed to weathering,
traffic, rubbings, and vandalism, and some had become much less legible
as a result. Because they were scattered all over the islands, protection
of the sites by shelters or staff was prohibitively expensive. Instead, the
Society decided to make reproductions of the petroglyphs, copied from rubbings
made at the time of their rediscovery, and to put these in a small park on the museum
grounds, where it was hoped they would divert traffic from the sites of the originals.
By 1998, more than thirty
reproductions,
ranging in size from 50 cm x 50 cm to 2 m x 3 m, had been placed around the museum.
Interpretive signs give the history of the petroglyphs, explain the fragility of the
originals, describe the penalities for defacing them, and recommend photography rather
than rubbings. A brochure, available in the park, gives tips for effective photography.
The project has so far been fairly successful. Local tourist facilities
now direct their customers to the museum rather than to the original sites.
Visits to the museum have increased--the park is used outside of museum
hours as well. We know that information from the interpretive signs has
been carried away and spread by some who later visit the original sites.
Funding is now being sought to reproduce more of the petroglyphs.
Images © M Bentley and Gabriola Historical and Museum Society, 1997
Other Petroglyph References and Links
