‘MINDLESS damage’ to one of Jersey’s dolmens is being investigated by the police.
Nicky Westwood, president of the Société Jersiaise, said someone appeared to have used a stone to break off a section of wall within the La Sergenté passage grave in St Brelade.
The site, built around 6,500 years ago, is believed to be one of the Island’s earliest dolmens – a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb.
Ms Westwood said: ‘It was really upsetting that someone would destroy something like that without giving it any thought.’
She added that the damage was caused to part of a cist grave – a sectioned-off part of the dolmen where bones would be buried.
‘It has basically been broken off in bits and we found the stone that someone had used to throw at it repeatedly.’
Commenting on whether the dolmen would need repairing, she added: ‘When dolmens have been damaged in the past we have tended to leave it, but in this instance if we don’t put it back then we will lose the provenance of the cist grave.
‘We are going to have a meeting about it to decide what we are going to do. These sites are sacred to some people.’
Olga Finch, Jersey Heritage’s curator of archaeology, said: ‘We were very disturbed and upset to see the mindless damage done to this ancient dolmen.
‘It dates back to 4,500BC and has survived thousands of years.
‘It is incomprehensible to think that anyone today would want to vandalise it. A whole stone has been smashed and we don’t know if it will be possible to carry out repairs.’
She added: ‘We have provided information from the Historic Environment Record to illustrate how much damage has been done, and we will work with the Société and provide any help that we can as they consider what steps to take next.’
A police spokesperson confirmed that the incident had been reported to them and was currently being investigated.
Last year, a security firm was brought in to patrol dolmen sites after a spate of vandalism was reported. The Faldouet dolmen, one of the most significant in Jersey, was drilled into by vandals who stole quartz crystals, while holes were dug into the ground at the Le Couperon de Rozel monument.
And six years ago the dolmen at Mont Ubé in St Clement was defaced with graffiti.
The Société Jersiaise was founded in January 1873 by a small group of Islanders interested in the study of the Island’s history.
