Stongehenge, Protest Groups
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi) west of Amesbury and 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of earthworks surrounding a circular setting of large standing stones and sits at the centre of the densest complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, including several hundred burial mounds. Archaeologists had believed that the iconic stone monument was erected around 2500 BC, as described in the chronology below. However one recent theory has suggested that the first stones were not erected until 2400-2200 BC, whilst another suggests that bluestones may have been erected at the site as early as 3000 BC (see phase 1 below). The surrounding circular earth bank and ditch, which constitute the earliest phase of the monument, have been dated to about 3100 BC. The site and its surroundings were added to the UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1986 in a co-listing with Avebury henge monument, and it is also a legally protected Scheduled Ancient Monument. Stonehenge itself is owned by the Crown and managed by English Heritage while the surrounding land is owned by the National Trust.
New archaeological evidence found by the Stonehenge Riverside Project indicates that Stonehenge served as a burial ground from its earliest beginnings. The dating of cremated remains found on the site shows that burials took place there as early as 3000 BC, when the first ditches were being constructed around the monument. Burials continued at Stonehenge for at least another 500 years.
History of Stonehenge
Mike Parker Pearson, leader of the Stonehenge Riverside Project, noted that Stonehenge was associated with burial from the earliest period of its existence:
Stonehenge was a place of burial from its beginning to its zenith in the mid third millennium B.C. The cremation burial dating to Stonehenge's sarsen stones phase is likely just one of many from this later period of the monument's use and demonstrates that it was still very much a domain of the dead.
- Mike Parker Pearson
Stonehenge itself evolved in several construction phases spanning at least 1500 years. There is, however, evidence of large scale construction on and around the monument that perhaps extends the landscape's time frame to 6500 years.
It is widely assumed that Stonehenge once stood as a magnificent "complete" monument, although this cannot be proved as around half of the stones that should be present are missing, and many of the assumed stone sockets have never been found. Dating and understanding the various phases of activity is complicated by disturbance of the natural chalk by periglacial effects and animal burrowing, poor quality early excavation records, and a lack of accurate, scientifically verified dates.
Protest Groups
The Stonehenge road tunnel was a controversial tunnel in Wiltshire, England proposed by the Highways Agency to upgrade the A303 road. It would have moved the A303 into a tunnel under the Stonehenge World Heritage Site and close the A344 road. The project was designed to improve the landscape around the monument and to improve safety on the primary A303 and was part of proposals to change the site in other ways including moving the visitors centre.
The A303 is one of the main routes from London to the South West of England. Sections have been upgraded to dual carriageway status, though sections of the route remain single carriageway. Traffic flows on the A303 between Amesbury and Winterbourne Stoke (the section including Stonehenge) are above the capacity of the road and the Highways Agency expressed concern about safety on this road and the A344. The two roads currently pass through Stonehenge and land owned by the National Trust with the A303 passing directly south and the A344 directly to the north with a pedestrian tunnel passing from the Stonehenge visitor centre to the site underneath this road. As part of the development of the proposals, over 50 routes were considered by the Highways Agency