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Castlerigg desecration and vandalism

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moss M
moss Jul 9, 2008 07:31:32
Replying to theCaptain

theCaptain wrote:
Thought I'd mention here that I witnessed first hand what I considered to be utterly disgraceful scenes at Castlerigg Sunday 29th June, with several people there with a couple of "colourful" characters from (I believe) Guatemala, who proceeded to dig a pit and start a fire in the centre of the circle as part of some sort of "ceremony".

Since I posted a picture of the turf digging on the megalithic portal, it seems to be all kicking off,

See http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=42 and
http://www.megalithic.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=a312&file=index&do=showpic&pid=40273

I think that the liverpool holistic circle may start to regret their actions.

Its a bit much that our sites are being desecrated by people from another country, how would they feel if we did the same in their country I wonder.
The people to blame in all this are those that organised such a stupid ceremony in the middle of one of the most beautiful stone circles in this country. Goodwill tour fine, but lighting fires is tantamount to vandalism and is definitely illegal at scheduled ancient monuments.

G grufty jim
grufty jim Jul 9, 2008 13:06:06
Replying to moss

moss wrote:
Its a bit much that our sites are being desecrated by people from another country, how would they feel if we did the same in their country I wonder.
That was ironic, right? The history of colonial powers tends not to be filled with respect for the sacred sites of the colonised. I find it mind-boggling, for instance, that despite repeated protests from the Greek government, you still need to travel to London to view many of the statues from the Parthenon. And the looting of Egyptian antiquities remains one of the great cultural crimes of modern history.

More recently, and in a more general sense, one only needs to look at Macchu Picchu to see the effect of (mostly European and American) tourists on the sacred sites of other lands.

Of course, none of this lessens the desecration or vandalism of sites closer to home (by natives or by visitors) one single jot. But it's worth bearing in mind that the Guatemalan in question was merely carrying on a rich tradition practiced, sadly, by many.