Rujm el-Hiri, an ancient basalt rock structure, situated in the Golan Heights, about 16 kilometres east of the Sea of Galilee, has been drifting tens of metres since its construction nearly 5,000 years ago. For years, scientists have pondered the reason for the unusual movement as well as the purpose of the monument, also known as ‘Stonehenge of the East’.

After years of mystery, scientists may finally have come up with an answer. According to a study published in the journal Remote Sensing, the tectonic plates in the area around Golan Heights shift between 0.3 and 0.6 inches every year which means Ruim el-Hiri has shifted 131 feet (nearly 10 metres) over the past 4,000 years, completely changing the alignment of the stone structure.

“Analysis shows that since the entire region has rotated over time, the Rujm el-Hiri’s location shifted from its original position for tens of metres for the thousands of years of the object’s existence,” the study highlighted.

Prior to the study, theories indicated that the rock circle was an ancient sky observatory. To find truth in the theory, the researchers redrew the sky map and aligned the directions of cosmic events as well as celestial bodies that would have appeared between 3,500 BC and 2,500 BC and matched them with the monument’s current structure.

After going through the data, scientists found that the alignment of the monument’s gateways and radial walls during this historical period was “entirely different from today’s”.

“This means that the current orientation of the radial walls and entrances was not the same as 4000-2000 B.C., and the speculation that they were aligned with celestial bodies of the past are not supported.”

Also Read | Scientists May Have Finally Figured Why Stonehenge Was Built

‘A complex structure’

Satellite surveys showed Rujm el-Hiri has burial mounds, linear stone walls and circular “flower-like” enclosures which suggests that the monument is not an isolated relic, but part of a complex network of ancient structures.

Since its discovery in 1968, Rujm el-Hiri has captivated the imagination of archaeologists. The structure consists of 42,000 basalt rocks up to 2.5 metres high, arranged in concentric circles along with smaller structures sharing similar design principles. It has an outer circle spanning 150 metres.

The researchers claim that more excavation of selected features in and around Rujm el-Hiri is required to better understand the reasons behind substantial investment in the monument.

London:

A 73-year-old Indian-origin activist is among two Just Stop Oil activists arrested by Wiltshire Police on Wednesday after they sprayed orange paint on the Stonehenge historical landmark in south-west England.

Rajan Naidu from Birmingham said the orange cornflour used in protest against the use of fossil fuels was to create an eye-catching spectacle that will soon wash away with the rain.

He was joined by a 21-year-old student from Oxford, Niamh Lynch, and together they were campaigning against the continued use of coal, oil and gas.  “Either we end the fossil fuel era, or the fossil fuel era will end us,” said Naidu in a statement released by Just Stop Oil.

“Just as 50 years ago, when the world used international treaties to defuse the threats posed by nuclear weapons, today the world needs a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty to phase out fossil fuels and to support dependent economies, workers and communities to move away from oil, gas and coal,” he said.

“The orange cornflour we used to create an eye-catching spectacle will soon wash away with the rain, but the urgent need for effective government action to mitigate the catastrophic consequences of the climate and ecological crisis will not. Sign the treaty,” he said.

The Just Stop Oil environmental group said the campaigners had “decorated” Stonehenge in orange powder paint to demand that the incoming UK government commit to working with other governments to agree an equitable plan to end the extraction and burning of oil, gas and coal by 2030.

While British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak condemned the incident as a “disgraceful act of vandalism”, Opposition Labour Leader Keir Starmer said the damage was “outrageous”.

“At around noon, we responded to a report that orange paint had been sprayed on some of the stones by two suspects. Officers attended the scene and arrested two people on suspicion of damaging the ancient monument,” Wiltshire Police said in a statement.   “Our enquiries are ongoing, and we are working closely with English Heritage,” the statement noted.

English Heritage, the charity that oversees the landmark, added: “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. More updates to follow, but the site remains open.” Stonehenge, a prehistoric megalithic structure on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, is a popular tourist site in England. Archaeologists believe it was constructed in several phases from around 3100 BC to 1600 BC.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

An image grab from a video released by the Just Stop Oil climate campaign group shows activists spraying an orange substance at Stonehenge in Wiltshire, southwest England, on June 19, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Climate activists of the ‘Just Stop Oil’ group sprayed orange powder on to the stones of Stonehenge, the prehistoric rock monument in Wiltshire, England, on Wednesday. The attack happened a day before the summer solstice (June 20) when crowds gather at the site. The monument, thought to have been built in several stages between 3000 BCE and 1500 BCE, was likely significant, historically, as a gathering place for rituals during the summer and winter solstices, as the position of the stones aligns in specific ways with the sun’s trajectory on these days.

Two people have been arrested in connection with the incident, the police said.

In a statement the group said two of its members had “decorated” Stongehenge to demand an end to oil and gas burning and extraction by 2030.

“Standing inert for generations works well for stones – not climate policy,” the group said.

The U.K.’s top leaders, normally at loggerheads with each other with a general election three weeks away, found common ground over the attack

“’Just Stop Oil’ is a disgrace,” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on social media site X.

“The damage done to Stonehenge is outrageous. Just Stop Oil are pathetic,” said leader of the Labour Party Keir Starmer, who is the frontrunner for the Prime Minister’s post.

‘Just Stop Oil’ members have attacked a number of culturally significant objects. Two activists in their 80s – a priest and a retired teacher – had smashed the case around the Magna Carta in the British Museum in May. In January, two other activists threw soup on the Mona Lisa at the Louvre in Paris.

London:

UK police arrested two people on Wednesday after environmental activists sprayed an orange substance on Stonehenge, the renowned prehistoric UNESCO World Heritage Site in southwest England.

Just stop oil protestors damage Stonehenge
pic.twitter.com/HSQvfWIdNh

— Stonehenge U.K (@ST0NEHENGE) June 19, 2024

The Just Stop Oil protest group said a pair of its activists had “decorated Stonehenge in orange powder paint” to demand that the UK’s next government legally commit to phasing out fossil fuels by 2030.

Footage posted on social media showed the activists, wearing “Just Stop Oil” branded T-shirts, spraying at least two of the megalithic monuments with the orange substance from a small canister.

The group said on social media they had used “orange cornflour” and claimed it “will soon wash away with the rain”.

Wiltshire Police said in a statement it had “arrested two people following an incident at Stonehenge this afternoon”. 

“Officers attended the scene and arrested two people on suspicion of damaging the ancient monument.

“Our inquiries are ongoing and we are working closely with English Heritage,” the police added, referring to the public body that cares for hundreds of the country’s historic places, including Stonehenge.

The incident comes in the middle of the UK’s general election campaign, ahead of voters going to the polls on July 4.

– ‘Disgraceful’ –

It drew immediate condemnation from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who called it “a disgraceful act of vandalism to one of the UK’s and the world’s oldest and most important monuments”.

“Just Stop Oil should be ashamed of their activists,” he added.

Just Stop Oil said it had chosen to stage the action on the day before the Summer Solstice festival, when crowds gather at the site to celebrate the northern hemisphere’s summer solstice.

A spokesperson for the group said that although the Labour party, which is widely expected to win next month’s election, has vowed not to issue any new oil and gas drilling licences, “we all know this is not enough”.

“We have to come together to defend humanity or we risk everything. That’s why Just Stop Oil is demanding that our next government sign up to a legally binding treaty to phase out fossil fuels by 2030,” the spokesperson added.

“Failure to commit to defending our communities will mean Just Stop Oil supporters… will join in resistance this summer, if their own governments do not take meaningful action. 

“Stone circles can be found in every part of Europe, showing how we’ve always cooperated across vast distances — we’re building on that legacy.” 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)