"I wouldn't get a permit otherwise. The historian and author Tom Holland wrote a particularly eloquent piece objecting to the tunnel plans on the Telegraph, which Stonehenge Alliance have made available on their website, here . ), Not all archaeologists are opposed to the project. Key ICOMOS-UK objections. We have a duty of care.”. How ‘dolphin safe’ is canned tuna, really? Dr Julian Richards – objections to Stonehenge Tunnel Published by Stone Henge: 15 February 2017 “The UK Government wants to build a motorway through the World Heritage Site 400m south of Stonehenge. Rivers and lakes are the most degraded ecosystems in the world. RELEVANT LINKS: Chancellor pledges A303 tunnel ‘will get done’ SPIRE FM. The idea of a tunnel was first proposed in the early 1990s and revisited several times over the years, but it was dismissed each time because of its high cost. (Photo by Chris Gorman/Getty Images) Getty Images. RELEVANT LINKS: Chancellor pledges A303 tunnel ‘will get done’ SPIRE FM. “Visitors will be able to experience Stonehenge as it ought to be experienced, without seeing an ugly snarl of truck traffic running right next to it,” said Anna Eavis, curatorial director for English Heritage, the charity that looks after more than 400 historical monuments around England, including Stonehenge. Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire , England, two miles (3 km) west of Amesbury . Visitors will be able to approach the stones from the south, for example, without taking their life in their hands trying to cross the highway.”. The Keystone XL pipeline is dead. “Nobody had any idea these were there. INTERNATIONAL advisers have joined objections to plans to put a major road into a tunnel by Stonehenge because of "negative and… 07/03/2017 Now ICOMOS-UK totally condemns the short tunnel at Stonehenge! “People forget or don’t realize that Stonehenge is more than just the stone circle, it’s a landscape,” Eavis said. The petition said the government scheme would have a “catastrophic” impact on the Neolithic stone circle. He lives in Marlborough. RELEVANT LINKS: Chancellor pledges A303 tunnel ‘will get done’ SPIRE FM. “The line of the road has been surveyed and archaeologically evaluated, and appropriate excavation and sieving strategies put in place to make certain nothing important is missed,” she said. The approved plan will expand the highway to four lanes as it approaches Stonehenge, then dip underground in a two-mile-long tunnel that will pass about an eighth of a mile to the south of the stone circle. “All that’s likely to be found is stone tools and debris from their manufacture, removed from any archaeological context.” (This ancient British monument was 10 times bigger than Stonehenge. All rights reserved. The two-mile-long tunnel and its approaches are part of a $2.2 billion package to upgrade the narrow A303 highway that runs startlingly close to the iconic stone circle and has long been notorious for traffic jams and long delays. Could a fungus save the day? A much shorter piece to camera by Dr. Julian Richards about why the proposed short tunnel plan for the Stonehenge landscape is such a terrible idea. Please get any objections to the A303 Stonehenge tunnel scheme in NOW - time is running out The A303 road scheme is clearly what Highways England thinks it can get away with. A303 Stonehenge "Improvement" ... burial chambers, ancient settlements and ancient trackways. Plans for a road tunnel near Stonehenge are "severely flawed" and the "whole project must be re-assessed" a World Heritage Sites advisory body has said. The petition said the government scheme would have a “catastrophic” impact on the Neolithic stone circle. In addition to Stonehenge visitors, it carries heavy truck traffic and hordes of holiday travellers heading to seaside destinations in Cornwall and Devon. Digging a £1.7bn tunnel near Stonehenge would cause “devastation on a major scale”, an archaeologist has warned. Published 13 Nov 2020, 11:19 GMT. The tunnel will re-route the A303 underground to the south of the stones. Objectors say the tunnel is not nearly long enough. Revelers gather to observe the summer solstice sunrise. Photograph by Steve Parsons, PA Images/Getty, Photograph by Tolga Akmen, Anadolu Agency/Getty Images. Whilst Highways England reported that people generally agreed that something should be done to address the problems on the A303 this was in the main in terms of traffic, not in terms of the benefit to Stonehenge. In February, campaign group the Stonehenge Alliance amassed more than 50,000 objections to the plans and delivered the petition to Downing Street. “Just listen to the live video of the summer solstice [celebration] back in June. Wiltshire's papers report a response to the ICOMOS-UK objection to the short tunnel and new roadway by Buckingham University archaeologist Professor David Jacques. Highways England has launched its search to find a contractor for the controversial Stonehenge road tunnel. 4) The spiritual desolation of driving a tunnel under and through the Earth Astral temple that is Stonehenge 5) The impact ion the Block Mead mesothic site 6) The objections of UNESCO to the development Please accept this registration of objection, Tom … Nobody wants that!”, Newfound survivor camp may explain fate of the famed Lost Colony of Roanoke. Copyright © 1996-2015 National Geographic Society. They highlight the destruction it would wreak across the board – to the site's ecology, its archaeological value, its … Are you procrastinating more? Prior to today’s announcement an alliance of tunnel opponents—including the Campaign to Protect Rural England and the British Archaeological Trust—called on the government to reconsider the plan. The developers building the tunnel, Pearson said, will be allowed to sieve as little as one percent of the topsoil. ), Not all archaeologists are opposed to the project. Copyright © 2015-2016 National Geographic Partners, LLC. The decision to approve the A303 Stonehenge Tunnel scheme has been labelled as "shocking and shameful" by campaigners. In February, campaign group the Stonehenge Alliance amassed more than 50,000 objections to the plans and delivered the petition to Downing Street. English Heritage’s Eavis, however, said sifting all of the topsoil is not standard practice for a project of this size. One factor is that whatever is proposed, there will be objections. Please get any objections to the A303 Stonehenge tunnel scheme in NOW - time is running out The A303 road scheme is clearly what Highways England thinks it can get away with. A traffic-snarled stretch of road near Stonehenge will be replaced with a tunnel, the British government has announced. We raise 12 individual objections to the plans shown asdisadvantages,and make 50 cost, benefit and value comments on these and two otherproposals. A £1.4 billion plan proposes replacing much of the A303 route that runs past Stonehenge with a new route that includes a 2.9km (1.8 miles), deep-bored tunnel, just a few hundred meters south of the monument. Fight begins over Stonehenge tunnel scheme Campaigners have accused the Government of planning to scar one of the world's most valuable archaeological treasures by building a tunnel on the site of Stonehenge. "As a researcher, if I want to excavate in a World Heritage Site like Stonehenge, I’d have to agree to sieve 100 percent of the topsoil," said Michael Parker Pearson of the University College London's Institute of Archaeology, who has excavated at Stonehenge for many years. “This … But supporters say the tunnel will restore the landscape to its original setting and improve the experience for visitors, now topping 1.6 million a year. “Anything shorter would cause irreparable damage to this landscape, in breach of the World Heritage Convention.”. It’s a project to remove an existing road and put it underground.”, Everyone agrees that the present road is a disaster and needs fixing, Darville said. 450 butterfly species rapidly declining due to warmer autumns in the western U.S. Tree of heaven is a hellish invasive species. Objectors say the tunnel is not nearly long enough. Holland and the Stonehenge Alliance say they would be comfortable with a much longer tunnel, on the proviso that it caused “no further damage” to the world heritage site – … Government gives go ahead to Stonehenge A303 scheme in Budget – SALISBURY JOURNAL The new tunnel plan has gone down badly with lots of people. Revelers gather to observe the summer solstice sunrise. Stonehenge was added to the World Heritage List in 1986, along with Avebury\u2014the world's largest prehistoric stone circle\u2014and other Neolithic sites in the area. “Nobody had any idea these were there. Blame the pandemic. Mon 22 Jun 2020 13.38 EDT 2,166 Leading archaeologists say a £1.6bn scheme to build a road tunnel through the historic Stonehenge landscape … Kate Fielden lives near the ancient monument and said the landscape would need to be “gouged out” to create the two-mile (3.2km) tunnel along the A303. ), “The road was never designed for anything like these levels of traffic,” said Tom Fort, author of Highway to The Sun, a history of the A303. A petition against plans to build a 1.9 mile (3km) tunnel near Stonehenge has been handed in to Downing Street. Please find attached a short report on our views on the currentStonehengeProposals. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Nobody has ever been able to agree on what to do about it.”. The topsoil is where you get the vast majority of your archaeology." Anatole-Gabriel said that if the tunnel is built despite World Heritage’s objections, then Stonehenge could lose its status as a World Heritage site. The two-mile-long tunnel and its approaches are part of a $2.2 billion package to upgrade the narrow A303 highway that runs startlingly close to the iconic stone circle and has long been notorious for traffic jams and long delays. After you get a COVID-19 vaccine, what can you do safely? It would move the A303 into a tunnel under the Stonehenge World Heritage Site, completing the removal of traffic begun with the 2012 closure of the A344 road. This ancient British monument was 10 times bigger than Stonehenge. The approved plan will expand the highway to four lanes as it approaches Stonehenge, then dip underground in a two-mile-long tunnel that will pass about an eighth of a mile to the south of the stone circle. Objections to the Stonehenge tunnel. Now what? Published 13 Nov 2020, 11:19 GMT. Controversial tunnel under Stonehenge approved over archaeologists' objections. “This will make it a place for walking again. “Just listen to the live video of the summer solstice [celebration] back in June. Controversial tunnel under Stonehenge approved over archaeologists' objections. A World Heritage committee urged Britain to look at building a much longer tunnel with entrances that are not within the Stonehenge site’s footprint. Governments come and governments go; wars come and wars go; ministers come and ministers go and still the thing does not happen. That concerns Gaffney, who believes the tunnel “needs to be much longer, under the whole of the site. Opponents of the tunnel include archaeologists, environmentalists, and modern-day druids. “If A303 widening at Stonehenge is felt to be essential, it should be done by means of a deep-bored tunnel at least 4.5 kilometres [2.8 miles] long,” states their petition, which was signed by 150,000 people. The first broad look at all of the gases that affect how the Amazon works—not just CO2—reveals a system on the brink. “The line of the road has been surveyed and archaeologically evaluated, and appropriate excavation and sieving strategies put in place to make certain nothing important is missed,” she said. Over the decades more than 50 different proposals have been put forward to solve the traffic problem. Here’s what happens if a U.S. president refuses to leave office, Stonehenge was part of a multi-monument complex. Wildlife seizures are down—and an illicit trade boom may be coming, Test drilling for oil in Namibia’s Okavango region poses toxic risk, Photos: A decade after disaster, wildlife abounds in Fukushima. It would welcome a longer Stonehenge tunnel to “reduce further the impact on the cultural landscape”. RELEVANT LINKS: Chancellor pledges A303 tunnel ‘will get done’ SPIRE FM. Nobody wants that!”, Copyright © 1996-2015 National Geographic SocietyCopyright © 2015-2021 National Geographic Partners, LLC. Campaign group the Stonehenge Alliance has amassed more than 50,000 objections, which will be delivered to the prime minister. Where to see northern California’s most spectacular waterfalls, Invasive grass is overwhelming U.S. deserts—providing fuel for wildfires, Playing it cool: these artists make music with ice. Letters like the one below, copied into us here at the Heritage Journal and reproduced by permission, which lays out many of the main objections to the tunnel. On 10 February 2016, Wiltshire Council’s Strategic Planning Committee approved an outline planning application for up to 175 houses and a hotel on land to the west of Salisbury Road. The road and tunnel are being sold on a false premise: that they would enhance “Stonehenge” and the “World Heritage Site”. Archaeologist Mike Pitts agrees. While the tunnel itself will run some 130 feet below the surface—well below any archaeological layers—the approaches and portals will be cut through potentially artifact-rich topsoil within the grounds of the World Heritage Site. Holland and the Stonehenge Alliance say they would be comfortable with a much longer tunnel, on the proviso that it caused “no further damage” to the world heritage site – … "I wouldn't get a permit otherwise. “People need to remember that this isn’t about building a road in a World Heritage Site, as some people seem to think. Governments come and governments go; wars come and wars go; ministers come and ministers go and still the thing does not happen. “The pandemic stripped away a lot of fears and amplified my desire to connect with others.” One year into COVID-19, photographers reflect on their own images. One of the most notorious bottlenecks along A303 is the narrow two-lane stretch between Amesbury and Berwick Down in Wiltshire. Inside is a ring of smaller bluestones . The priceless primate fossils found in a garbage dump, The U.S. may soon have a third vaccine. All night you can hear the road, and that was during lockdown when there was supposed to be very little traffic.”, And, Darville said, there’s another factor in the tunnel’s favor: “We understand from Highways England that if the tunnel doesn’t go ahead, there will most probably be an on-surface solution involving a dual carriageway. Stonehenge-era pig roasts united ancient Britain, scientists say. The conservation body has supported claims by the Stonehenge Alliance that the proposed £1.6bn works would damage important archaeological remains at the site. The British Government has approved a controversial plan to build a four-lane highway tunnel beneath the Stonehenge World Heritage Site.The two-mile-long tunnel and its approaches are part of a £2.2 billion package to upgrade the narrow A303 highway that runs startlingly close to the iconic stone circle and has long been notorious for traffic jams and long delays. Digging a £1.7bn tunnel near Stonehenge would cause “devastation on a major scale”, an archaeologist has warned. The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) said proposals to build a 1.3 mile-long road tunnel within the World Heritage Site containing (Stonehenge-era pig roasts united ancient Britain, scientists say. There were several opportunities to register objections: A non-statutory consultation in 2017; A statutory consultation in Spring 2018 From cats to cows to crocodiles, ancient Egyptians worshipped many animal gods, Ancient woman may have been powerful European leader, 4,000-year-old treasure suggests, DNA study of 6,200-year-old massacre victims raises more questions than answers. Can we save them? Originally an 18th-century carriage road between London and Exeter, the A303 highway has evolved to become one of the main arteries to England’s southwest. One of the most notorious bottlenecks along A303 is the narrow two-lane stretch between Amesbury and Berwick Down in Wiltshire. That’s where the highway passes within 200 yards of the iconic stone circle, one of Britain’s most popular tourist attractions. One factor is that whatever is proposed, there will be objections. “I’m a big advocate of the tunnel and getting it done as soon as possible,” said Timothy Darvill of Bournemouth University. Opponents fear the loss of ancient artifacts still hidden underground. No modern U.S. presidential candidate has refused to concede. Letters like the one below, copied into us here at the Heritage Journal and reproduced by permission, which lays out many of the main objections to the tunnel. 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What can the faces on its currency tell us about a country? Published 13 Nov 2020, 11:17 GMT. It seems that the proposal to build some kind of bypass or tunnel around or under the Stonehenge monument has been going on since time began. Revelers gather to observe the summer solstice sunrise. These soothing hot springs let you unwind, Why ‘star walking’ is the outdoor activity we need right now, This little-known Native American society was once as powerful as the Aztecs and Incas, On this Caribbean isle, St. Patrick’s Day is a unique blend of heritages. Here’s why that matters. Sign up for more inspiring photos, stories, and special offers from National Geographic. Currently, Stonehenge’s A303 segment handles approximately twice as much traffic than it designed to accommodate. We raise 12 individual objections to the plans shown asdisadvantages,and make 50 cost, benefit and value comments on these and two otherproposals. There are 6 further general points for consideration. Solar panels and batteries on your home could help prevent the next grid disaster, The origins of environmental justice—and why it’s finally getting the attention it deserves, The unintended environmental benefit of Cuba's isolation, Same force behind Texas deep freeze could drive prolonged heat waves. “Remote sensing has revolutionised archaeology and is transforming our understanding of ancient landscapes—even Stonehenge, a place we thought we knew well,” said Vince Gaffney, a landscape archaeologist at Bradford University and co-leader of the Stonehenge Hidden Landscape Project, which discovered the previously unsuspected shafts. ICOMOS-UK acknowledges that there has long been a need to do something to address the impact of the major A303 road through the WHS but does not accept the idea that the proposed tunnel is a once in a lifetime opportunity to solve the road problems that has to be taken even if the length of the tunnel means there would be irreversible damage to the WHS. Originally an 18th-century carriage road between London and Exeter, the A303 highway has evolved to become one of the main arteries to England’s southwest. Archaeologist Mike Pitts agrees. “People forget or don’t realise that Stonehenge is more than just the stone circle, it’s a landscape,” Eavis said. Here's how it works, The long lost city of Tamão is hiding in plain sight, Women lead the way in the world’s next great surf spot, Feeling frazzled? “They've improved segments of it piecemeal over the years, widening them into four-lane divided highways, but the stretch around Stonehenge was always the tricky part. Here's how it fit together. Photograph by. “Visitors will be able to experience Stonehenge as it ought to be experienced, without seeing an ugly snarl of truck traffic running right next to it,” said Anna Eavis, curatorial director for English Heritage, the charity that looks after more than 400 historical monuments around England, including Stonehenge. Last June the discovery of 20 deep shafts arranged in an enormous circle nearby the site forced the government to delay the decision on the project for another four months while the find could be assessed. Kate Fielden lives near the ancient monument and said the landscape would need to be “gouged out” to create the two-mile (3.2km) tunnel along the A303. The new tunnel plan has gone down badly with lots of people. The British Government has approved a controversial plan to build a four-lane highway tunnel beneath the Stonehenge World Heritage Site. According to Highways England, the government company guilty of road construction, the new plan will create an eight-kilometre stretch of two-lane road that crosses a tunnel over a two-mile stretch beyond prehistoric stones. The A303 route passing past Stonehenge monument. The wider project was designed to improve the landscape around the monument and to improve safety on the A303, and was part of proposals to change the site in other ways including moving the visitors' centre. Nobody has ever been able to agree on what to do about it.”. It consists of an outer ring of vertical Sarsen standing stones , each around 13 feet (4.0 m) high, seven feet (2.1 m) wide, and weighing around 25 tons, topped by connecting horizontal lintel stones. Thousands flock annually to the site to welcome the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. Are volcanic eruptions next? In February, campaign group the Stonehenge Alliance amassed more than 50,000 objections to the plans and delivered the petition to Downing Street. It’s a project to remove an existing road and put it underground.”, Everyone agrees that the present road is a disaster and needs fixing, Darville said. Inside is a ring of smaller bluestones . These books will inspire your next trip. Frank Somers, of the Stonehenge and Amesbury Druids, said the proposed tunnel came “horrifically close” to the sacred springs of Amesbury Abbey. International experts join call to scrap Stonehenge tunnel bid . What else don’t we know?”. Government gives go ahead to Stonehenge A303 scheme in Budget – SALISBURY JOURNAL Campaign group the Stonehenge Alliance has amassed more than 50,000 objections, which will be delivered to the prime minister. Despite the various objections, the plan is now poised to commence sometime around 2020 with a projected completion date of 2024. The scheme has been mired in controversy with environmental and heritage groups objecting to tunnel … The historian and author Tom Holland wrote a particularly eloquent piece objecting to the tunnel plans on the Telegraph, which Stonehenge Alliance have made available on their website, here . But Highways England said the tunnel would cut congestion and improve journey times on the A303 route. According to Highways England, the government company guilty of road construction, the new plan will create an eight-kilometre stretch of two-lane road that crosses a tunnel over a two-mile stretch beyond prehistoric stones. Thousands flock annually to the site to welcome the longest day of the year in … The International Council on Monuments and Sites UK (ICOMOS-UK) has “strongly objected” Highways England’s Stonehenge tunnel plans.