Vandals damage Stonehenge

[Celtaur]

A disappointing article I just read

LONDON (AFP) - Vandals used a hammer and screwdriver to vandalise the Stonehenge ancient monument, the first such incident for decades, officials said Thursday.

The night-time attack by two men last week involved the central megalith in the 5,000-year-old ring of standing stones, with English Heritage saying the vandals could have been looking for a souvenir.


A chip of stone about the size of a large coin was removed, while a 2.5-inch long scratch was left on the Heel Stone, at the centre of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, near Salisbury.


"Thanks to the vigilance and quick action of the security team at Stonehenge, very minimal damage was caused," said a spokeswoman for English Heritage.
"A tiny chip was taken from the north side of the Heel Stone with a screwdriver and hammer, but as soon as the two men were spotted by security guards they escaped over the fence and drove off.


"This is now a matter for the police," she added.
A spokeswoman for Wiltshire Police said: "Two male offenders were seen disturbing the monument with a hammer and screwdriver... It is believed they could be two men seen acting suspiciously on a previous occasion."


Stonehenge is one of the world's best preserved prehistic monuments. In around 2,600 BC, 80 giant standing stones were arranged on Salisbury Plain, where there was already a 400-year-old stone circle.


Around two centuries later, even bigger stones were brought to the plain.
Today, only 40 percent of the originals remain. But around 850,000 visitors per year come to marvel at the 17 stones which are still intact.


The biggest stones came from a quarry some 18 miles away, while some of the others come from a range of hills in south-west Wales -- a 150 mile journey.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080522...tagestonehenge

[Haruth]

Why? What possible motive is there? Completely bamboozled...

Namaste

[tehuti]

Unspeakable primitivism. Some people never advance beyond the amoebic functioning.

[Celtaur]

probably wanted to sell a piece of it on eBay or something ridiculous. I don't understand this mentality either. Luckily the security guards were "on guard."

[Lillith]

makes me a little , well confused. Kind of like the blowing up of the Buddha carving in the mountain. What are these people thinking or are they thinking at all. Before long it seems everything will be destroyed by cells that havent evolved past the amoeba stage. arhg

[Klasien]

Oh come on... if people have the audacity to destroy other people's gravestones, you can't expect them to keep their hands off of Stonehenge??

I remember after the Berlin Wall fell, you could buy pieces of it ... so this was probably someone who is trying to make a quick buck out of our beliefs?

Absolutely outrageous, but not the worst that has happened so far?

[Violet]

These people have never heard of karma, glad I'm not them. violet

[Mohandas]

I lived in Devon, England for a spell and Stonehenge was not too far away. The problem with vandalism, both intentional and/or neglectful (ie. leaving loads of beer cans littered around the stones, pissing up against one of the megaliths etc.) is a very real problem. Now that stonehenge is fenced off, it may lose a little mystique but at least it cuts down on these types of incidents. There are, of course orders of Druids who have, in the past performed rituals there at auspicious times throughout the year. Sadly, due to the abuse of the sacred sight by another loosely formed group of individuals known as "new age travelers" it was closed to all but daytime tourists for years. The righteous members of the Druidic order fought against the decision and I'm not sure what happened as I have not lived there for years. I heard one report that they had been allowed to perform the Beltaine ritual but hundreds of Carlsberg special brew swilling, ketamine snorting morons descended on the site and there were further incidents of damage to the grounds and reports of people climbing the stones, blasting loud music during the ceremony and deficating within the sacred circle. The truth is that many or perhaps all the sacred sights world wide have long since been desecrated in many different ways. I was at the Great Pyramid at Giza, some years ago and learned that more than 2000 visitors were in and out of that holy structure each day, causing untold wear and tear and sometimes trying to take home a little piece for themselves. We were quite lucky, I suppose as it was shortly after September 11/2001 and there had been some tourists slaughtered at Luxor previous to that in a highly publicized, fanatical attack. The result of these two horrific events was that there was not a tourist to be seen, neither in Cairo nor at the pyramids themselves, they were all scared to death. So there we were, three friends chanting Aum in the king's chamber of the Great Pyramind at 12 noon of the summer solstice and we were completely alone. It gives shivers to recall. As far as vandalism goes ( I got off track a little) I've seen it world wide at sacred sites all over. People's names carved, graffiti, rubbish, human excrement etc, etc, etc. This is the age of Kali after all and I'm sorry to say that we can expect much worse before it gets better. " Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."

[Lillith]

that is all. To wonder what drives someone to destroy such beautiful artifacts. Mohandas you're story of the pyramids gives me chill bumps as well , one day may I be blessed to expeirence these beautiful places and sacred spaces before there is no more. Thank you for sharing.