Attempts underway to protect significant landmark in Alberta's ancient history
The quartzite boulder spent untold millennia riding a massive glacier all the way from Jaspers Tonquin Valley to its eventual resting place next to Nose Creek.
That was between 15 and 20,000 years ago. Sometime later, the first people walked past - and from time immemorial the Beddington erratic and dozens of others like it - became significant landmarks across the landscape.
It's not clear just when, but the first people began to leave their mark - paintings telling stories or marking events, people or nearby resources.
"All of these sacred places were all marked - even the medicine wheels and the way they point - they point to a direction where something else happened," says Grant Many Heads, an educator at Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park on Siksika.
Many Heads notes the site was just literal steps from what's now called the Old North Trail, a route that shadowed the Rocky Mountains from Alaska to Mexico. It was a major trade and travel route, a long line that connected the northern people of the boreal forest, through the Great Plains, to the canyon and desert country to the south.
"It's not just records - they are sacred," Many Heads says. "It's kinda sad that people come to these places and damage them."
GRAFFITI
That's what has happened to the substantial boulder over the years - pictures from the 1943 Alberta Geology Report show the boulder intact. As of 2000, a report on protection of similar erratics noted seven with known pictographs, including the Beddington site, located a few hundred metres north of Country Hills Boulevard and a similar distance west of Deerfoot Trail.
At the time there was no mention of graffiti, but notes from the archaeological site identified as EgPm-177 reads "The pictographs are faded and there is no record of their precise location or form."
Today the rock is covered in countless layers of paint, with fresh cans on the ground as of April 22, 2024. Four and a half metres tall and roughly 7.3 metres long and wide, little of the actual rock is visible.
Today the rock is covered in countless layers of paint, with fresh cans laying on the ground as of April 22, 2024. Four and a half metres tall and roughly 7.3 metres long and wide, little of the actual rock is visible.
PRESERVATION
Nose Creek Preservation Society founder Andrew Yule says more needs to be done to preserve the erratic and give it a place of respect and context in Calgary's modern landscape.
"Finland has laws to protect natural monuments like glacial erratics and we don’t really have protections," Yule says. "It really takes efforts from all levels of government to make sure that significant natural monuments [. . .] like this one are protected."
The city owns the land immediately to the south - an unofficial park that has a bridge and a gravel trail, but no proper access point. The erratic itself sits just roughly 60 metres onto private land to the north.
The city says there is little if anything it can do.
Yule said his group have tried to identify the landowner to see if they can negotiate a plan for the ancient site, but haven't been successful.
"We have teams of people that are interested in helping restore it so that we can get rid of the graffiti and place actual historic markers that can tell the story so that it’s not just another rock," Yule said.
The petroglyphs were mostly painted using a naturally occurring red clay called ochre, mixed with animal fat. It has lasted at least 1,500 years in some North American sites, but does deteriorate over time and with repeated touching. The presence of even the lightest coat of spray paint can cause irreparable harm.
Yule says the valley is the final resting place of countless bison, butchered and packaged to feed the people who followed the northern herds over vast areas for thousands of years.
Nose Creek Preservation Society founder Andrew Yule says more needs to be done to preserve the erratic and give it a place of respect and context in Calgary's modern landscape.
There is still a depression around the Beddington erratic, pounded out by the feet of thegreat bison herds rubbing their winter coats.
Today that moat is the only tangible evidence left of the countless souls that passed this way since the great glaciers melted away and life in Alberta began.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Judge in Trump's hush money trial threatened to throw witness out of court for behavior on stand
Michael Cohen testified Monday that he stole tens of thousands of dollars from his ex-boss Donald Trump’s company, an admission defence lawyers hope to use to undermine Cohen’s credibility.
What is BORG drinking, and why is it a dangerous trend? An expert explains
If you've been to a party lately and haven't seen someone drinking a BORG, you're likely not partying with college students.
The world's best airline is paying staff a bonus of 8 months' salary
Singapore Airlines will reward its employees with a bonus worth nearly eight months of salary, a person familiar with the matter told CNN on Friday.
Oilers win Game 7 over Canucks, advance to Western Conference Final
The Edmonton Oilers weathered a late Vancouver Canucks charge on Monday night, beating the hosts 3-2 to win their seven-game second-round playoff series in the decisive showdown.
McGill says pro-Palestinian protest outside senior administrator's home 'crosses the line'
McGill University has denounced a pro-Palestinian protest held Sunday outside the home of one of its senior administrators.
Red Lobster probes 'endless shrimp' losses after bankruptcy filing
U.S.-based restaurant chain Red Lobster has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a Florida court after securing $100 million in financing commitments from its existing lenders, the company said on Sunday.
Katy Perry sings goodbye to 'American Idol'
Katy Perry said her goodbyes on 'American Idol' after seven seasons. On Sunday night’s live 'idol' season finale, a medley of Perry's hit songs were performed, including 'Teenage Dream,' 'Dark Horse' and 'California Gurls.'
Microsoft's AI chatbot will 'recall' everything you do on a PC
Microsoft wants laptop users to get so comfortable with its artificial intelligence chatbot that it will remember everything you're doing on your computer and help figure out what you want to do next.
Judge cites error, will reopen sentencing hearing for man who attacked Nancy Pelosi's husband
A federal judge will reopen the sentencing hearing for the man who broke into Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco home and bludgeoned her husband with a hammer after the judge failed to allow him to speak during his court appearance last week.