AN 'ARTISTIC' new trend involving creating sculptures with stones from the Es Trucadors archaeological dig is putting its future in jeopardy, historians warn.
A volunteer session is being held at the Formentera historical site with members of the public helping to dismantle the stone piles and put the parts back where they belong.
Environment councillor Daisee Aguilera says Es Trucadors is a 'particularly sensitive' area, vulnerable to erosion caused by the wind and waves, and that any alterations in its structure could worsen the risk.
Geologist Xisco Roig says this new craze could have 'serious consequences', as it is 'deforming the landscape' – something he calls an 'abomination'.
The sandy soil, which is 'very poor', is covered by plant life which has adapted over centuries to its conditions but which is easily damaged, and piling up stones onto it can kill it off.
Part of the Es Trucadors site – the Sa Pedrera area near the Cala d'Hort bay – is 'in a very poor state', Roig says.
Stone 'labyrinths' built by visitors take up over 70 square metres and dry-stone walls many decades old have been taken down to create Stonehenge-type structures.
“They're destroying features that are hundreds of years old,” Roig laments.
Es Trucadors is a tiny peninsula, or 'arm' of land stretching out to the north of the island of Formentera, forming part of the Ses Salines salt-flat nature reserve.
It includes the sculpture park, La Riada, created by German expat Johannes Schultz in 1992 and which he continues to add to every few months.
