A search is underway for a suspect who whitewashed history by painting a 5.000 year-old-menhir completely white.
Menhir’s started appearing in the middle Bronze Age and are most commonly found in western Europe, in particular in Ireland, Great Britain and Britanny, where there are about 50,000 examples.
Britanny was also the home of the fictional comic here Obelix, who was a Menhir maker, and his friend Asterix, and he put the stones in the popular imagination by carrying one around with him as he travelled the world on his adventures.
The protected menhir that was defaced is known as La Lancha menhir – it is 1.77 metres tall and 1.8 metres wide and in Arcos de la Frontera, in the Cadiz province of Spain.
Spain also has hundreds of menhirs and astonished ancient history fans have revealed that after thousands of years left untouched, one of the best known has been painted in bright white lime paint overnight.
The desecrated monument lies next to a grain field and was discovered by an investigator named Agustin Garcia Lazaro while he was taking a walk in the countryside, according to local media reports from 7th September.
The investigator then brought the unfortunate incident to the attention of local authorities by writing about it in his blog.
He stated: “I was perplexed to see how the La Lancha menhir was painted white.
“Perhaps the owners of the nearby farmhouse, whose path begins precisely in this place, next to this striking menhir landmark, had done so to make it easier to recognize at night.
“The fact is that, with this nonsense, with this unacceptable lack of respect for an authentic menhir monument, they have “bleached history” or if you prefer, they have “whitewashed” it.”
The Provincial Delegation of Culture of the Board of Andalusia has informed national news sources that an investigation is currently being carried out to find the perpetrator of the destructive act.
Lazaro went on to state: “We can only hope that ‘whom it may concern’ does something so that the next initiative is not to put a road sign on our battered menhir.”
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Story By: Alice Amelia Thomas, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency: Newsflash
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