Environmental protesters sprayed paint on Britain’s Stonehenge on Wednesday, with orange marks covering some of the stones of the prehistoric megalithic structure on the eve of the summer solstice celebrations.
Two people have been arrested on suspicion of damaging the ancient monument, police said in a statement.
“This is extremely upsetting and our curators are investigating the extent of the damage,” English Heritage, the charity that manages Stonehenge, said on X. Stonehenge remains open, it added.
The monument, one of Britain’s most visited tourist spots, also holds spiritual significance and attracts thousands of revellers, spiritualists and tourists during the summer solstice – the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere.
In video released by environmental group Just Stop Oil, two protesters were seen running towards two of Stonehenge’s megaliths and spraying paint as another person attempted to stop them.
Members of the public were able to walk around within the stone circle, located in southern England, until 1977 when it was fenced off due to concerns over damage from a sharp rise in the number of visitors.
Read more here from the New York Post.
