What do we know about the archaeology that would be lost? 5:39 What isn’t taken away for the museum actually goes back in the ground broadly in the place where it came out of. Very different to all the excavations that have taken place for research in the World Heritage Site because everything there is simply put back. And the thing about it, as you saw from Kate’s pictures, it’s a total destruction, nothing will be left. And we have to wonder whether this really is the most suitable way of solving the problems that were perceived in the 1980s.įrom the archaeology, the most important thing is that that road line will ensure the complete destruction of 10 hectares of the World Heritage Site, most of it in the two stretches outside of the western and eastern portals, where the tunnel emerges.īut also, the corner at the top left, the northwest corner of the World Heritage Site, is also going to be damaged by road building. And I’m afraid the world has changed in so many ways that we’re all aware of. And here we are – what, 50 years later – or it will be 50 years later, when it actually becomes operational. I was there at English Heritage in the late 1980s when it was dreamed up. It’s a very out of date scheme, I’m afraid. The World Heritage Site is over five kilometres across at that point. Very simply, the tunnel is just not long enough: 3.2 kilometres. Why are some archaeologists actually in favour of the scheme?.Isn’t the archaeology in fact all going to be recorded before the road is constructed?.What do we know about the archaeology that would be lost?.What is so special about the world heritage site?.
#Pearson chronological age series#
I want to start off with a series of questions about the archaeology, based on some of the questions that have already come in. Mike Parker Pearson (NOTE 3)Īrchaeological aspects of the A303 Stonehenge Road Scheme 0:22 So, Mike, thanks very much for coming here. No better person to tell us why the road scheme that Kate has just been demonstrating and illustrating, why it would be so damaging in archaeological terms. Tom Holland (NOTE 2) Let’s hear now from Professor Mike Pearson.
What is left is an island of conservation where damaging development must be resisted in perpetuity. The World Heritage Site is within an area that’s been massively encroached upon in the last 20 years.Consequently, the remains are the only source of information. This landscape represents a period of our history for which we have no written records.This is a landscape packed with many impressive standing monuments and also below ground.Stonehenge Alliance webinar on 3 June 2021 NOTE 1 Presentation by Professor Mike Parker Pearson KEY POINTS