Vandals Leave Ugly Marks on Mountain

Vandals have carved names and other inscriptions into the tuff of Helgafell mountain in Hafnarfjörður, just south of Reykjavík, causing damage that may take decades or centuries to heal, mbl.is reports. Some of the carvings show phalluses in various sizes.

The Environment Agency of Iceland has reported the matter to police. Numerous first names have been carved into the mountain, some including middle names.

“Names and initials of individuals had been carved into the soft rock, and it’s clear that some of the damage was done recently, possibly even in the past few days,” a statement from the Environment  Agency reads.

The pictures show the damage better than words can describe. They were taken June 17 by María Elíasdóttir, DDS.

“This was visible everywhere,” she states. “They had used some rocks or knives for carving this into the rock face. It’s somewhat soft, making this possible, but it still takes some effort.”

María worries that seeing this vandalism, youngsters or tourists imagine this to be acceptable in the area, encouraging them to do the same.

“Of course, this is damage to nature,” she laments.

“These kinds of  inscriptions are a clear violation of nature  protection laws and tremendous disrespect toward the country’s nature, leaving damage that can take wind and weather decades or centuries to wipe out,” a statement from the Environment Agency reads.