Environmental activists from the group Stop the Oil sprayed orange powder on stones at Stonehenge, a prehistoric stone structure in Wiltshire, England, on Wednesday. The attack took place the day before the summer solstice (June 20), when people gather at the site. The stone structure, which is thought to have been built in several stages between 3000 and 1500 BC, is likely to have been an important historical meeting place for solstice ceremonies due to its specific alignment with the sun’s orbit at the summer and winter solstices.
According to police, two people have been arrested in connection with the incident.
The group said in a statement that two of its members had “decorated” Stonehenge to call for an end to oil and gas burning and extraction by 2030.
“Inaction over generations works for stones but not for climate policy,” the group said.
With a general election just three weeks away, Britain’s usually at odds with other top leaders have found common ground on the attacks.
“‘Stop the oil’ is disgraceful,” Chancellor Rishi Sunak said on social media site X.
“The damage done to Stonehenge is outrageous. ‘Just Stop Oil’ is pathetic,” said Labour leader Keir Starmer, the front-runner to become prime minister.
Members of Stop the Oil have attacked a number of culturally significant items: in May, two activists in their octogenarians – a pastor and a retired teacher – vandalized the case around the Magna Carta at the British Museum, while in January two other activists threw soup at the Mona Lisa at the Louvre in Paris.
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