Two protestors with the British Just Stop Oil organization made headlines again this week when they used fire extinguishers to spray orange powder on England’s venerable Stonehenge monoliths.
Fortunately, this recent attack did not cause lasting damage to Stonehenge. But British Indie rockstar Liam Gallagher said it best: “Don’t f**k with the stones man, they have mystical powers. Hope they all wake up tmoz and are all orange toads.”
Activists Targeting Tourist Sites
Activists are increasingly targeting museums and high-visibility tourist sites, particularly in Europe. Just Stop Oil protestors threw tomato soup on Van Gogh’s Sunflowers painting at London’s National Gallery in October 2022. A year ago, the same group used hammers to deface a Diego Velasquez masterpiece. In France, environmental activists threw soup at the priceless Mona Lisa, and in Rome, they poured diluted charcoal into Trevi Fountain.
My Earliest Memories of Stonehenge
Stonehenge is intertwined with my earliest childhood memories of England. Although my family lived thousands of miles away in Saudi Arabia, we visited my maternal grandparents in Hampshire once or twice a year. They were only an hour away from Stonehenge in south central England.
Stonehenge: Once A Jungle Gym
Stonehenge was a place of wonder and will always be a connection to my past. As a child in the 1960s, I remember climbing on the rocks and seeing visitors’ initials carved over them like old trees. It’s possible Granny also carved my sister’s and mine into one of the stones. I’ll take the guided carvings and graffiti tour one day to confirm this, but this website mentions the family name is written on Stone 23, albeit spelled with an “ie” rather than a “y.”
Years went by before historians took measures to protect such pre-historic sites. According to the BBC, visitors carried in hammers and chisels until 1900 to take their souvenirs of Stonehenge away with them.
I’ve returned several times as an adult, but it’s different. An enormous ticket office is on the site. Coaches offload tourists eager to see the 5,000-year-old neolithic monument. A rope keeps everyone far away from the ancient stones. There are exceptions—more than 15,000 spectators were allowed closer access to see the sunrise at today’s Summer Solstice. See the Livestream.
Check out this English Heritage History site to learn more about Stonehenge. Did you know it was once privately owned?
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