A 1,200-year-old piece of history has finally returned home. In a significant act of cultural repatriation, a 2,500-pound boulder bearing ancient Fremont petroglyphs was restored to its original mountainside location near the Utah-Idaho border this past December.
The artifact, created by ancestors of the Shoshone people, had spent nearly 80 years sitting in the yard of a chapel belonging to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Tremonton. Church members originally removed the rock from its natural setting in the 1940s, a decision attributed to a lack of understanding regarding its sacred nature at the time.
Its return marks the culmination of a multi-year collaborative effort between the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation, the Utah State Historic Preservation Office, and the Church. Tribal leaders view the restoration as a vital step toward historical accuracy and cultural healing.
A Delicate Restoration Before the rock could be returned, it underwent a careful preservation process. Conservators worked to remove decades of lichen growth using a gentle combination of soap, water, bamboo, and steam, successfully revealing the intricate ancient engravings beneath.
Once cleaned, the massive stone was airlifted by helicopter to an undisclosed location in the mountains. There, members of the tribe gathered for a private, sacred ceremony to welcome the ancestor rock back to the land where it was originally carved.
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