Thousands of druids, pagans and New Age revelers celebrate summer solstice at Stonehenge
Thousands of druids, pagans and New Age revelers greeted the summer solstice at Stonehenge on Tuesday, the longest day of the northern hemisphere year.
Wiltshire Police said about 6,000 people gathered at the ancient stone circle in southern England to watch the sun rise at 4:49 a.m. on a clear, crisp morning.
Police said the atmosphere was "convivial" and there were only two arrests - one for assault and one for drug possession.
In a Facebook post, the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Wiltshire and Swindon thanked everyone for making the event "peaceful and safe."
Thank you to everyone who helped to make the #SummerSolstice2022 peaceful and safe including Wiltshire Police and...
Posted by Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Wiltshire and Swindon on Tuesday, June 21, 2022
It was the first time revelers have been permitted to gather for the solstice since 2019. The sunrise was streamed online in 2020 and 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Stonehenge was built between 5,000 and 3,500 years ago on a windswept plain in southwest England by a sun-worshipping Neolithic culture. Experts still debate its purpose, but it is aligned so that on summer solstice the sun rises behind the Heel Stone and rays of sunlight are channeled into the center of the circle.
Though the stone circle's alignment with the midsummer sunrise makes it an ideal location for celebrating the solstice, the event has a controversial past.
The solstice celebration in 1985 was the occasion of a violent clash between police and revelers, causing the monument to be closed for the solstice for 15 years. During those years riot police and people determined to celebrate the solstice often clashed.
But in 2000, English Heritage reopened Stonehenge for the solstice and celebrations since have been peaceful, with only a few arrests for minor offenses each year.