MADERA CANYON - A mysterious stone shrine lies tucked away in a secluded glade less than a mile from a popular hiking trail in this canyon south of Tucson.
Nearby, on a cliff above a creek, someone has pecked pictures of animals onto the rock face.
The unauthorized creations appear to be modern rather than ancient, said anthropologists who viewed photos of the sites.
Officials of the U.S. Forest Service said they weren't aware of the shrine or the numerous rock carvings.
"That's new to me, but it's not acceptable on forest land," said Jim Copeland, district ranger for the Forest Service.
"You cannot occupy the national forest" or alter the landscape with structures or images without a permit, Copeland said. "We would not condone it."
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Penalties for such "resource damage" include a sentence of up to six months in prison and a fine of up to $500, Forest Service officials said.
The origins of the shrine and rock carvings, known as petroglyphs, aren't clear - but anthropologists made some observations based on photos.
"It looks like a New Age shrine," said Richard Stoffle, a research anthropologist at the University of Arizona. "Nothing seems to be in American Indian styles."
Stoffle said the sites reflect some traits associated with people who follow the New Age lifestyle.
"In general, New Age people are a bit lost in terms of their own religious background so they seek an alternative religious experience with pieces - places, words, and objects - of other people's religions," Stoffle said. "The end result tends to be a jumble - albeit satisfying to the New Age person."
Patrick Lyons, a UA associate professor of anthropology, said that "the petroglyphs do not appear to be ancient."
"They do not match any style with which I am familiar," Lyons said. "They are too detailed and too realistic in representation, and they look too fresh in terms of how long ago the face of the rock was altered to produce them."
Hiker Robert Fleck, who guided a reporter to the sites, said he has "no idea of who did this or how many people know about it."
"It's a wild area and very beautiful," Fleck said of the petroglyph site - reached by departing the popular Super Trail and bushwhacking up a rugged canyon.
He said he and fellow hikers have visited the area several times over the past couple of years. They've never encountered people working at the sites or using them.
Fleck pointed out rock-carved depictions of a snake, owl, deer, rabbit, bird and other figures.
At the shrine, which is 7 or 8 feet high on its back side, items displayed on a sort of altar included jewelry, a doll and animal figures. Other items, including a turtle shell and more jewelry, are nailed to nearby trees.
Logs are arranged to form a small seating area in front of the shrine. A fading inscription reads: "El Parque de Belle."
Some of the rocks have been mortared together, indicating that the builders must have lugged heavy bags of material to the site.
"Somebody has done a lot of work up here," Fleck said.
It's not clear whether the shrine and petroglyphs are the work of the same people.
Does carving images and words into rocks on public forest land amount to defiling the landscape?
Apparently the builders of the sites don't think so. This message is carved prominently into a large rock near the petroglyphs: "Whosoever shall defile this place shall invite the subtle wrath of its spirits."
Did you know
The land that is now Madera Canyon was ceded to the United States with the Gadsden Purchase in 1854. Madera is the Spanish word for lumber and, as ranchers and miners swarmed west, the first commercial undertaking in Madera Canyon was a lumber camp.
SOURCE: Friends of Madera Canyon
Contact reporter Doug Kreutz at dkreutz@azstarnet.com or at 573-4192.
