Aquilus Vampire and Pagan Forum

Vandals used a hammer and screwdriver to vandalize 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 prehistoric 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.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/

I just don't  get how someone could vandalize something that remarkable. *sighs*

I heard a blip about it on the news while I was working on the site and was in the middle of something important, so I didn't hear it all. And just happened to remember to look up what exactly happened. This type of thing disgusts me.  >:( It's also considered sacred space to some people. I consider it no different then burning a church or something like that. But also with it being so ancient, it just makes me even more mad.

I think it's sad that places like Stonehenge need to be guarded. Needing a "souvenir" seems like a symptom of the disconnection that most people feel with Mother Nature nowadays.

This truly is beyond me. If one wishes a souvenir, there are always pictures. I can not understand how someone could damage something that old and magnificant..

Not to mention how much work it must have been for the people that build it so long ago.

I hope they get to see the inside of a British jailcell, and spend there for a long time.

Kind regards,
Wilhelm

There is a basic lack of respect that has become so common in our society. I think that this directly is related to that.

*sighs* I had to take a minute after first reading this to calm down enough to be able to post. >:(

We have so few truly Sacred places left in this world. The kinds of places that inspire awe and respect. Or at least they SHOULD to anybody with half a brain.

This kind of behavior is disrespectful, arrogant, rude and down right deplorable! And I hope that they are caught and spend the next few years staring at the stone walls of a British jail if they like "rocks" so much! >:D

Since the Earth is the only home we have, I can never understand why people want to trash it.  Even an animal knows better than to shit where it eats. (Excuse the language).  Those kind of people once caught, should have to go around and repair all the damage others do.  Would change their perspective on things.
Sonni

As irritating as it is, I'm sure that they're not the only ones who have done this.

Sometimes I think society is devolving.

There is a lack of respect for anything of the past or of different cultures. Actually often a lack of respect for anyone or anything. I find it very sad.
There are still many who do respect such things, but I see so many who don't that it really concerns me.

How could anyone do something like that to something as Sacred as Stonehenge!  :'(

Just when you think people couldn't act more idiotic something like this happens. It really is upsetting to see, and unfortunately every society breeds such idiots.

At least they were sighted before worse damage was done.