Vandalism of 5000-Year-Old Stonehenge: 'Eco-Activists' Spray Iconic Monument with Orange Paint Ahead of Summer Solstice

In England, two "ecoactivists" from the climate movement Just Stop Oil vandalised and sprayed orange powder paint on Stonehenge, which is approximately 5,000 years old, before the Summer Solstice.

This happened the day before the start of the Summer Solstice celebrations at Stonehenge. 

The "protesters" are demanding that the new UK parliament agree with other governments on a joint plan to stop producing and burning oil, gas and coal by 2030.

Police detain two environmental activists on suspicion of damaging an ancient monument: 21-year-old Oxford student Niamh Lynch and 73-year-old Rajan Naidoo from Birmingham.

After the vandalism, the organisation Just Stop Oil claimed that the orange powder paint was corn flour, which would be quickly washed away by rain.

The UK government strongly condemned the incident. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called it a "disgraceful act of vandalism", while Labour Party leader Keir Starmer called the Just Stop Oil campaign "pathetic".

Mike Pitts, an archaeologist and author of the book How Stonehenge was built, believes that the consequences of the action are potentially quite alarming. According to him, the surfaces of the megaliths, which have been protected for decades, are very sensitive: they are completely covered with prehistoric markings (some of which are still not fully understood), so any damage to the surface of the stones is of great concern.

The day before, English Heritage said that it had removed the paint with a special blower, but if it had been rained on, it could have caused significant damage.

The summer solstice is one of the rare events when people can get close to the ancient monument. About 15 thousand people from all over the world gathered at Stonehenge to watch the sunrise on this day.