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Tag: Police

Three Arrested for Illegal Dumping at Necropolis From Sixth Century BC

Burial grounds dating back to the sixth century BC are usually taken pretty good care of and considered important national heritage sites – or at least you would have thought so. This wasn’t the case recently in Puglia, where an archaeological site from at least 500 BC was used as an illegal dumping ground. It is reported that 135 tons of dangerous waste – including building materials, disused wagons and other heavy-duty items from the state railways, as well as out-dated pneumatic machines and vehicles was left at three sites near the town of Martina Franca, near Taranto in southern Italy.

Three arrests were made over the weekend by the Italian financial police (Guardia di Finanza), who are investigating the crime. Only one of the three sites where refuse was dumped has been reported to be an archaeological site of considerable importance, but it is thought to cover an area of 16,000 square metres although no further details have yet been released.

Archaeological Sites of Taranto

The Itria Valley, between Taranto and Martina Franca, was part of Magna Grecia from the eighth century BC and there are several important sites and necropolises in the area, including:

  • The Triglie archaeological area, which is hugely important for its traces of several different historical periods, including prehistoric (there is a Bronze Age village), Greek (burial chambers, which were also, bizarrely, used as houses during Middle Ages), Roman (there is an aqueduct-hypogeum), and the medieval period (as noted by a tenth century village).
  • The Cacciagualani archaeological area, where several objects have been found, including a golden diadem and two rings found in a fourth century BC tomb.
  • Amastuola Farm, which is thought to be one of the first Greek settlements in the region, having been colonised by a group of Greeks during the seventh and sixth centuries BC.

That one of the area’s archaeological sites is now under several tons of industrial waste is a shocking reflection of several deep-rooted problems in Italy. It will no doubt raise many questions about the country’s waste disposal problems, as well as organised crime and the protection and funding of heritage sites.

Photo by Zeta.

Police Force Will Attend Stonehenge Summer Solstice Too

The Wiltshire police has announced there will be a large police presence at Stonehenge for this year’s Summer Solstice. Because the celebrations fall over the weekend and fine weather is predicted, bigger crowds than usual are expected and Wiltshire police have said they will clamp down heavily on antisocial behaviour. The police operation will involve an unmanned drone and horses. Also drugs sniffer dogs will be launched at Stonehenge tomorrow as huge crowds descend on the ancient site for the summer solstice.

The Guardian reported on visitors of the Stonehenge fearing a repeat of the escalations at the recent G20 protests, but police say they are not looking for confrontation: ‘The drone would be used to help make sure the 30,000 people who were expected to attend the celebrations were safe; and there would be only three police horses, also there for “public safety” reasons rather than any crowd control.‘ Personally, I think the police should try Druid Arthur Pendragon’s good advice – You are not policing Salisbury, you are policing Stonehenge for the summer solstice – and remember that the majority of the summer solstice visitors are there for celebration, rather than protest.

The police warned people not to set up spontaneous raves or free festivals before or after the solstice. Another preventive safety measure is that – as mentioned in our practical guideline to the Summer Solstice – you can only take a limited amount of alcohol with you. Stonehenge is not located in Amsterdam, so any substance that is illegal in the United Kingdom will be considered to be illegal at Stonehenge too. Luckily, chances that this will turn out to be a second ‘Operation Solstice’ are small! 😉

Stonehenge History Lesson: Battle of the Beanfield (Operation Solstice)

The Battle of the Beanfield took place over several hours on the afternoon of Saturday June 1, 1985 when Wiltshire Police prevented a vehicle convoy of several hundred new age travellers, known as the Peace Convoy, from setting up the fourteenth Stonehenge free festival at Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England after English Heritage, the custodians of the site, persuaded a High Court Judge to grant an exclusion zone of some four miles around the Stones. The incident became notorious for accusations of a police riot that were reported to have taken place.

Those in the Convoy insist that, after a stand-off of several hours, police attacked their procession of vehicles by entering the field where they were being contained, methodically smashing windows, beating people on the head with truncheons, and using sledgehammers to damage the interiors of their coaches, an account supported by all the independent witnesses and upheld by the subsequent court verdicts. The Beanfield was the next field down from where the vehicles were; and when a large number of police entered the first field, many of the Convoy vehicles tried to escape by going through the Beanfield, where they were pursued and arrested by police.

At the time, the police alleged that they responded after they had earlier come under attack, being pelted with lumps of wood, stones and even petrol bombs, though they did not repeat these allegations in any of the subsequent court cases and no proof for any of them has ever come to light. Whilst the full account of events remains in dispute, a court judgement six years later found the police guilty of wrongful arrest, assault and criminal damage.