Chunk of Stonehenge stolen
Last week, two men hammered off a coin-sized chip of Stonehenge and also left a scratch several inches long on the megalithic ruin's Heel Stone. You'd think this kind of thing would happen frequently but apparently it's the first act of vandalism there in decades. From the AFP (Frédéric Vincent photo from Wikimedia Commons):
"Thanks to the vigilance and quick action of the security team at Stonehenge, very minimal damage was caused," said a spokeswoman for English Heritage.Link
"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.
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Douchebags know no borders.
That used to be common. In the 19th century people thought nothing of busting off chunks, pouring acid on and otherwise altering the stones. Heck, many of the stones are missing altogether, having been dragged off for barn foundations and other humble uses. This monument was once thought of by the local people as nothing more than a convenient quarry.
Hey baby, I gots me a piece of the Stoned-henge!
Whut? I'm a douche?
The Police???
Just forget about it, I'd rather see that police time spent on catching some real criminals...
Drink!!!
TSBCMNWTT:
They Should Be Catching Murderers Not Writing Traffic Tickets
What, no CCTV cameras on Stonehenge?
#2:
Much like the Great Pyramid, eh?
#4: But clearly, this is just the beginning. First, they'll be taking chips from Stonehenge, then they'll move on to stealing entire monuments.
I bet Carmen Sandiego was behind this.
Indeed, why no cameras?
I feel the thieves should be made to understand and appreciate. Leave them in neo-lithic quarry until they can produce a block. Just one would do. They could make a reality TV show about it.
To be fair, what she means is that the Stonehenge security team will be receiving a police report form in the mail in about three weeks, to be filled out and returned.
five more days till Halloween--
Silver Shamrock!
I just got back from the Orkneys (north of Scotland) where there is no shortage of standing stones, barrows, and various other archaeological wonders. I had mixed feelings about the graffiti that had been carved into several of the sites, particularly as some of it had been carved by Vikings. It does make you ask yourself when does vandalism become historical artifact in its own right.
(most of the Viking graffiti say things like "Svein made these runes," or "There was treasure here, but Rognvald's men came and took it away.")
"when does vandalism become historical artifact in its own right."
When the vandal's own civilization has passed?
Here's a piece of modern vandalism that was saved from destruction by overwhelming public approval:
http://www.woostercollective.com/2006/06/bristol_city_council_reaches_out_to_the.html
Sorry. That's slightly NSFW but completely hilarious.
#6:
Good question. I think the reason the site isn't under CCTV surveillance is that they've done their level best (pun intended) not to wreck the view of and from the stones over the sweep of the Salisbury Plain. The car park and the museum are both very low-profile.
Most people, btw, are unaware that it's still possible to wander at will among the stones. Reservations are taken by the National Trust for a certain number of people each day to be granted "private time" among the stones. They take down the stakes and ropes each day and turn you loose to wander around on your own, just as people used to do. I highly recommend it. I didn't "get it" about Stonehenge until I was up close and personal.
Taking a chunk out of Stonehenge with a screwdriver is not graffiti. Just because people viewed historical sites differently in the past doesn't make it okay to take a chunk out of Stonehenge in 2008. It's a crime, which makes them criminals, which makes it a job for the police. The punishment, I hope, will be severe.
Did you know that Stonehenge is not strictly speaking a henge (a circular bank of earth paralleled by an internal ditch) because the positions of the ditch and bank are reversed?
This and more neolithic facts in the June National Geographic feature on Stonehenge:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/06/stonehenge/alexander-text
"'This is now a matter for the police,' she added."
I totally agree. Get The Police back together, and have them do a scathing jeremiad against these vandals in the form of an atmospheric concept album a la The Soul Cages.
I can think of no more fitting punishment for these lowlifes than to be ignominiously immortalized in soothing yet melancholy songs to which millions of college freshmen will get to second base until their roommates get tired of waiting in the common area and barge in because JESUS CHRIST, JON, DID YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO GET YOUR NERF BASKETBALL RIGHT THAT FREAKING SECOND?
Oops, The Soul Cages was Sting, not The Police. Still, I'd like to see what the full band can do with the project.
#11 Bravo!
That is the first thought that came to me when I read this also.
"Three horrorific masks to choose from!, and they glow in the dark!"
A tiny. Chip. A coin-sized. Tiny. Chip. Only if it's highly publicized will punishing someone for taking a tiny chip of stone be worth the trouble. Or not. Maybe it will just cause others to tempt fate and attempt to steal other tiny chips of stone.
I thought 'henge' referred to the structures of lateral stones supported by vertical ones because they resembled a hangman's scaffold. The words henge and hang are related.
I think the tiny coin-sized chip should be driven straight in between the eyes of the person who knocked it off the sacred stones. He should be buried with it in his brain...without overmuch care taken that he's quite dead first.
hey, funny, according to the OED Rossindetroit is right, and the term henge actually derives from Stonehenge. Earliest citation: 1740 W. STUKELEY Stonehenge ii. 8 Pendulous rocks are now called henges in Yorkshire, and I have been informed of another place there called Stonehenge, being natural rocks. So that I doubt not, Stonehenge in Saxon signifies the hanging stones. [n.b. Stonehenge is not in Yorkshire, nor is it natural.]
Its also, together with hange, a word for the giblets of an animal.
There was an ancient stone circle where I used to live in Bangor, Wales. We used to get drunk and climb all over it.
Oh, I see. Its a different Stonehenge. My mistake.
I threw up there. They really should warn Americans about Somerset cider.
See, this is why we need people like Sergeant Colon to guard large monuments - no one ever stole a building on his watch, so Stonehenge would have been a doddle.
Not such a big deal when compared to the reconstruction that occurred between the 1870s and the 1950s.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonehenge#Archaeological_research_and_restoration