This hypothetical circumstance was a practical one for me today . I found a new unrecorded rock art panel http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/13088/craig_tombane.html you can see by the initial pic summer sun and shallow cup marks are hard to bring out so water was required and the nearest water course turned out to be a 25 minute round trip . No problem but by the time I got back the sun was in cloud . I don't believe for a minute human sheep or cattle piss is going to make that much difference to a rock that has survived up to 5,000 years of British weather , feet are different . What is obvious is that a person intentionally pissing on rock art is doing so in the full knowledge what the act represents .In most , if not all cultures ,it would be considered at least disrespectful (water sports enthusiasts notwithstanding) it is quite a powerful metaphor . If the person doing it was also aware of a possible connection between RA and symbols it makes it even more perverse than some kid kicking against bourgeois morality . There is no doubt that when they are doing it they must be thinking “I'm pissing on rock art “ a wee bit disturbing ,anyone witnessing it might smile but it's odd , the recording bit is nonsense , nobody is that lazy .Fitz commented that it seems disrespectful , that's good enough for me ,on a different but connected note I also thing being a paramedic is as honourable a job as you get .I never bothered replying to the hypothetical situation as it seemed so extreme for a situation in Britain/Ireland where water is usually to be found in rock art areas within at least a mile ,it's not as if it's the Sierra Nevada never mind the Cuillin ridge . and if recording is so important a return visit would make sense in different lighting conditions and there would be plenty of other aspects of recording to be done on the initial visit . Fwiw I would suggest if it's that important to get the pic give yourself a bit more exercise ,go for the water ,you might find some more rock en route and you'll probably feel better about yourself .
