Local and expert upset by Stonehenge 'desecration'
STORY: :: An archeologist and local are upset by Just Stop Oil's vandalism of the UK's historic Stonehenge
:: June 20, 2024
:: Wiltshire, England
::Tim Daw, Farmer and former volunteer
"Just Stop Oil describe them as 'inert stones,' but for many of the people here tonight (solstice event) and the rest of the year, these stones are much more than that. They are sacred, they are revered, they are religious objects. Once something like that has been desecrated, it just doesn't feel the same. You know, in your heart, that it's changed."
:: June 19, 2024
:: Just Stop Oil
:: Amanda Chadburn, Archeologist
"I've worked here for many years and I know a lot about the monument. The sarsens (stones), although they look solid, they're actually porous. And more to the point, there's a very rare colony of lichen on them, and we just don't know what this substance is going to do to both of them."
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 which falls on Thursday night.
Just Stop Oil has gained notoriety in Britain for disruptive environmental protests, with its activists shutting down major roads, disrupting cultural and sporting events and even throwing soup at a Van Gogh painting.
The group wants the British government to end the extraction and burning of oil, gas and coal by 2030.
