One of Britain’s most famous landmarks, Stonehenge, fell victim to a pair of Just Stop Oil protestors on Wednesday who sprayed the prehistoric structure with an orange substance.
A video posted on social media showed the pair of activists spraying the landmark with fire extinguishers while onlookers attempted to stop them from defacing the structure.
“The Just Stop Oil protestors demanded the incoming government sign up to a legally binding treaty to phase out fossil fuels by 2030,” the group posted on X.
Wiltshire Police shared in a statement that the incident occurred at noon local time, 7 a.m. EST, near Salisbury in the Southwest of England.
The statement shared that police arrested two protesters “on suspicion of damaging the ancient monument.”
On social media, Stonehenge said the incident was “extremely upsetting.”
“Orange powdered paint has been thrown at a number of the stones at Stonehenge. Obviously, this is extremely upsetting, and our curators are investigating the extent of the damage,” the post said.
Despite the incident, the site is still open, according to English Heritage, which manages the monument site.
Just Stop Oil identified the protestors in a press release as a 21-year-old Oxford student and a 73-year-old Birmingham man.
Stonehenge is preparing for an influx of visitors ahead of the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. In respect, English Heritage has asked visitors to follow “conditions of entry.”
“Stonehenge is a World Heritage Site, a Scheduled Ancient Monument and is seen by many as a sacred place. We ask that all those attending respect it and those celebrating around it,” the website said.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has addressed the situation, posting on X that “Just Stop Oil are a disgrace.”