The Sagrada Jardín de Piedra Petroglyph Site, a 23-acre parcel on the west side of Mesa Prieta, was purchased by the Conservancy in 2023. The property contains high densities of petroglyphs carved into large basalt boulders. This site has been documented by the Mesa Prieta Petroglyph Project (MPPP) that discovered hundreds of carvings along with rock shelters, check dams, lithic debris, and ground stone tools. This preserve is part of a larger archaeological landscape that is ancestrally significant to members of the Tewa-speaking people of Ohkay Owingeh and Santa Clara Pueblos.
The demand for property at Mesa Prieta has increased over the past couple of years, placing the archaeological resources here at great risk. The Sagrada Jardin de Piedra addition features three lots that were originally intended to be sold as residential parcels. There are many houses on the mesa. Petroglyph boulders are moved or altered to create level building surfaces and roads are carved up the hillside to create driveways to the new homes. Additionally, larger infrastructure projects are being planned on the mesa to accommodate the growing population, which makes the preservation of this irreplaceable cultural material even more urgent.
The current owner is offering the three additional lots for cash purchase. This would extend our current preserve by approximately 30 acres and increase our protection of these important archaeological resources. MPPP has documented hundreds of images across these three parcels, as well as additional features such as cupules and grinding slicks. The Conservancy has recently agreed to purchase the additional parcels at the price of $210,000.
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The Conservancy’s Preservation Fund, a revolving fund that supports the purchase of endangered archaeological sites, provides us with the resources to purchase sites, cover the cost of taking legal interest, and fence and stabilize the sites. The Preservation Fund is essential to the purchase and long-term protection of each and every one of our preserves.
Your gift of $25, $50, $100 or more for the Preservation Fund, designated for Sagrada Jardín de Piedra, will make such a difference in our efforts to preserve these endangered archaeological sites.
Use the Designation dropdown below to indicate how you would like your Preservation Fund to be designated and know your donation makes preservation of cultural heritage possible.