It’s probably best that the following account of vandalism at the winter solstice should be given a wider airing than to just 14 people at the latest Round Table meeting….
The bit about “it will be too expensive to have analysis done” is striking in view of the fact that each year up to 35,000 summer revellers aren’t charged (say) £10 each which amounts to £350,000 not collected. But be that as it may, since it has recently been revealed that apart from the above winter damage there has been vandalism at the stones during almost every summer solstice gathering over the past decade, would it be unreasonable to ask for something to be done to put a stop to it?
(So far as we know there was no vandalism during the lantern parade gathering so it’s clearly possible).
The Heritage Journal 
10 comments
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23/02/2015 at 10:25
Vicky Newton
What is meant by “strip of oil” in this context? Machine oil or some kind of nature (ie essential) oil? Regardless it is unacceptable behavior but the latter is conceivably a “pagan” thing.
23/02/2015 at 10:34
heritageaction
Not sure. As you will see the Round Table Group doubted it was a “pagan thing” but as you say the issue isn’t who did it but the fact it was done at all.
23/02/2015 at 21:34
Alan Crooks
I commented on this twice this morning, and both times my comments have disappeared into the aether! IMHO this is not vandalism – which means mindless, gratuitous damage. Rather it is done , perhaps thoughtlessly, by people who aren’t aware of the Rules and/or are unaware of the damage that their actions may cause. I attended the winter solstice and was amazed at the variety of people who were there, enjoying their own individual and varied relationships with the Stones. Many people were just hugging the stones or sitting with their backs to them, presumably sensing the ‘vibes’. The comment about the person ‘lighting a fire in a natural depression’ possibly pertains to a person I observed (and photographed) who was igniting some tinder-like material (presumably narcotic), but I can’t believe this would do any serious damage to the Stones. Rather it adds to the historical use and mystique of the place. The Stones belong to the people and are there to be enjoyed by people in ther own varied ways. The main real ‘damage’ we should discourage (i.e. prohibit) is people chipping flakes off the Stones, and deliberately spraying with graffiti.
24/02/2015 at 16:10
Paul
The monument is a living/breathing temple not just a [look at] museum piece, They’d not stop us entering without one almighty fight first, As so many people now go who wouldn’t be told no by people with no [real] authority over them.
The custodians are the problem not the majority of people who use the monument, It’s the custodians job to stop things like this happening in the first place, So they clearly haven’t been doing their job properly.
Why should the good people pay for the mistakes of a few idiots and rubbish custodians???
24/02/2015 at 16:23
Tim
There are too many people resulting in too little control. Simple.
24/02/2015 at 19:30
juamei
Either all should be kept clear of the stones or a maximum occupancy area instigated with one out one in. The stones are being slowly but surely trashed by a selfish few, not only those doing the damage but also those apologists to whom unfettered access overrides all concerns including the long term health of the site.
24/02/2015 at 19:36
Wullie
“Each year around 35,000 summer revellers aren’t charged (say) £10 each, which amounts to £350,000 not collected”.
Says it all. Stonehenge, English Heritage’s Cash Cow. The place is a ruin and a shambles. The hippies want to build a tunnel for the road so that people driving by in cars cannot see the stones for free. Meatheads and Breadheads! The place doesn’t even work any more, most bits are missing and the roof is long gone. The idea of paying to get in to see Stonehenge has the same appeal as being asked to buy a warped and scratched Black and White Minstrels Album that nobody has the necessary equipment, warped world view or inclination to subject themselves to any more.
Pull it down! Get on with your lives! That’s what the Ancients did 4,000 years ago… they abandonded it as meaningless. And got on with the Bronze Age. Stop living in The Past!
25/02/2015 at 05:08
Nik
When I was a youngster, I remember visiting Stonehenge, we were allowed total access to the stones, as was everyone else in those days. Since the popularist rise in the “druid culture” of the mid 70’s there has been this alien culture towards the stones. Druid culture has nothing to do with Stonehenge, it is a 20th century thing and absolutely nothing to do with anything with 5000 years of history, a pseudo-culture desperate for an identity.
As far as I am concerned English heritage has been the single worst thing that happened to Stonehenge. Pay a large amount of money to get to a point 30 meters from the stones… whoopee do, I am happy to see them from the road… What I am not happy with are the mindless idiots who slow down to rubberneck the stones causing miles of tailbacks.
Is a tunnel the right thing to do? No!
Is free access to the stones the right thing to do? Probably not, but it doesn’t have to be so expensive, nor should it be run by English Heritage.
Access for these so called druids? Definitely not.
25/02/2015 at 09:38
Billy
Bullshit
25/02/2015 at 23:19
Simon
The issue has been clouded by society and its need to own or control, backed up by the feverish need to prolong everything.
The measures taken at Stonehenge and other sites like it should be of minimal intervention whilst preserving the site and giving access.
Nothing lasts forever, nothing should last forever and there would be nothing wrong with loosening the tight grip we have on ourselves.
That last bit came out a bit hippy!