Graffiti which is thought to depict two alien figures has appeared on the ancient site of Mulfra Quoit in West Cornwall

The appearance of graffiti thought to depict aliens at an ancient site in west Cornwall has prompted anger from the local community.

The two alien figures, painted on one of the granite stones which is part of the Neolithic Mulfra Quoit near Penzance, were spotted recently by Cheryl Straffon, author of Ancient Sites in West Penwith.
Posting in the Cornish Ancient Sites Protection Network (CASPN) Facebook public group, of which she administrator, Cheryl wrote: “The new year has started with the first graffiti on an ancient site. These figures have been painted on one of the uprights of Mulfra Quoit. Fortunately it is grey paint that can be removed, but one wonders at the mentality of people who will disrespect an ancient site in this way!”
Speculating that the painting was meant to represent aliens, members of the CASPN charitable trust, which carries out monthly clean-ups at ancient sites in Cornwall, shared their anger at the graffiti, but wrote that, sadly, this was not the first time something like this has happened.
As Mulfra Quoit is a scheduled monument, the removal of the graffiti must be done carefully and professionally.

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Cheryl added to her post: “We have reported this graffiti to Historic England, and they are discussing ways that it can be safely removed.”Dating from between 3500 – 2500 BC, Mulfra Quoit is the remains of a Neolithic dolmen, a type of single chamber megalithic tomb which would have originally had four large upright stones supporting a large horizontal capstone.The alien figures have been painted onto the large upright stone of the east side of Mulfra Quoit.Originally, Mulfra Quoit would have been appeared as a mound, with the stones covered with smaller stones and earth. However, today, only three of the main upright stones remain, and the large square capstone, which is thought to weigh around 5 tonnes, has slipped down and rests diagonally against the other stones.According to the C.A.S.P.N. website, despite these stone monuments in Cornwall being the remains of tombs, “excavations of quoits have indicated that they were not burial sites, but places where ritual burial offerings were made.”High up on Mulfra Hill, it is possible to see both the south coast and the north coast from Mulfra Quoit on a clear day.Whoever painted the two figures on the upright stone at Mulfra Quoit, must have made a determined effort to hike up to the quoit which sits far from the road, taking their paint with them.Unfortunately, this is not the first time that an ancient monument in Cornwall has been vandalised in some way. And just a few days ago, A Bronze Age burial mound in Wales dating back 3,000 – 4,000 years, suffered ‘appalling damage’ from off-road vehicles, which police are now investigating.Looking after some of the oldest stone monuments and sites in Cornwall, such as Mulfra Quoit, the Cornish Ancient Sites Protection Network describle themselves as “a Charitable Trust and a local partnership organisation that exists to protect and conserve the ancient sites and monuments of west Cornwall, so that people of all ages and abilities can enjoy and appreciate them forever.”Historic England have been contacted about the graffiti at Mulfra Quoit, and will look into the best way of cleaning the paint off the stone that causes as little damage as possible to the patina of the ancient site.It is hoped that the grey paint used on the stone will clean off without leaving any trace or damage on the stone.


Greg Martin 

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