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03/28/2024 05:28:35 pm

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U.S. Tourists Arrested For Carving Initials On Rome Colosseum

Rome Colosseum

(Photo : Reuters) A child throws coriander flakes as other people ride their bicycles near the Colosseum for the "Sundays on Foot" initiative to ban cars from the historic centres of Italy February 6, 2000.

Security officers in Rome have arrested two American tourists for engraving their initials on the walls of the Roman Ampitheatre.

The women, aged 21and 25, wrote three-inch-long initials "J" and "N" on the walls of the World Heritage site. Then they posed for a selfie, using the initials as their backdrop.

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The Italian newspaper La Stampa reports that the women were nabbed after other tourists reported the incident to the security personnel. The women had apparently wandered off, separating from their tour group.

"We apologized for what we did," they told the investigators. "We regret it. We did not imagine it was something so serious."

The tourists are now facing charges of "aggravated damage on a building of historical and artistic interest."

The women are not the only ones who left their personal marks on the Italian landmark. Last year, a Russian tourist had careved his 10-inch initial "K" on the Colosseum, for which he was fined 15,800 francs.

Meanwhile, in Cambodia, police had brought into custody two American sisters for taking nude pictures of their bottoms in Cambodia's Preah Khan temple. This holy place is one of the most prominent archeological sites in Southeast Asia.

The series of "pornographic stunts" are becoming more frequent these days at the Angkor Wat complex. Just two months ago, three French tourists were also caught taking bold pictures in Banteay Kdei temple.

Just previous days before this incident, a woman created a scandal after posing topless in the complex.

In Egypt, the area near the Pyramids and the Sphinx was used by Russian tourists to shoot their "pornographic film." Al Arabiya News reported that the movie was released on the internet.

Egypt's Minister of Antiquities says a public prosecutor is now handling the case.

New surveillance cameras are already being installed in the said tourists spot.

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