Environmental activists sprayed orange paint on Britain’s most famous prehistoric structure, Stonehenge, a day before large crowds are expected to gather on the summer solstice.
A video posted on X by Just Stop Oil shows two activists from the group spraying the landmark with a fire extinguisher.
“Just Stop Oil protesters called on the new government to sign a legally binding treaty to phase out fossil fuels by 2030,” the group posted at the ancient site near Salisbury in southwest England (7 a.m. ET), Wiltshire Police said in a statement. Police arrested two demonstrators on “suspicion of damaging an ancient monument,” according to the statement.
The official Stonehenge X account described the incident as “very disturbing.”
“Orange powder has fallen on some of the stones at Stonehenge. This is of course very disturbing and our curators are currently assessing the extent of the damage,” the post said. English Heritage, which manages the site, said it remains open.
The protesters were a 21-year-old student from Oxford and a 73-year-old man from Birmingham, according to a news release from Just Stop Oil.
Ahead of people gathering at Stonehenge on Thursday to celebrate the longest sunshine day in the Northern Hemisphere, English Heritage announced the “conditions of entry.”
“Stonehenge is a World Heritage Site, a designated ancient monument and considered by many to be a sacred site. We ask all those attending and all those celebrating around us to respect this,”
British Chancellor Rishi Sunak responded to the X Street incident by saying it was “shameful that people are calling for the oil to be turned off.”
Climate activists have been organising increasingly high-profile protests, often attacking highly valued works of art such as the Mona Lisa and Van Gogh’s Sunflowers.