The team has been digging for 8 days and ideas are continually evolving and being re-evaluated. What is exciting about this excavation is that no matter what day you visit or read the blog, you will hear something different from the previous day – and tomorrow will likely be different from today.
Theories, which can develop in tandem, are either abandoned, held on to, proved or disproved, or sit in the background quietly in wait. There are many specialists and highly experienced archaeologists on site who are all sharing and debating their ideas with each other – and if you’re lucky you may have caught them on site in deep discussion.
Three different areas under excavation – different ideas for each one
Plans to build a tunnel under Stonehenge have been welcomed in an influential report.
The A303 past Stonehenge is a highly congested route
The report by UNESCO and the International Council on Monuments and Sites recognised the benefits the 1.8m (2.9km) project.
In 2014 the government announced it would commit to building a tunnel, removing the A303 from the landscape.
Historic England, the National Trust and English Heritage also support the plans.
The report highlighted the scheme’s potential to become a “best practice case” for a World Heritage Site.
It said the scheme must “both protect the outstanding universal value” of the site and also “benefit road users”.
At the moment the congested A303 cuts through the middle of the area.
Helen Ghosh, director general of the National Trust, said the report “recognises the unmissable opportunity” the government’s road improvement scheme offers to address “the blight of the existing A303”.
Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, welcomed the report but said “sensitive design” would be needed.
Kate Mavor, chief executive of English Heritage, added: “Provided that it is designed and built in the right way, a tunnel would reunite the wider landscape around the ancient stones, helping people to better understand and enjoy them.”
FULL STORY: UNESCO report backs Stonehenge tunnel plans – BBC News
A new information leaflet has been produced by the World Heritage Site Coordination Unit to help to explain what a World Heritage Site is, why Stonehenge and Avebury is designated as a World Heritage Site and how it is managed. The leaflet also outlines the priorities of the World Heritage Site Management Plan.
Many people know about the important role that English Heritage Trust at Stonehenge and the National Trust at Avebury and in the Stonehenge Landscape play in managing the key monuments within the WHS but how the UK Government carries out the obligations of the World Heritage Convention 1972 are less well known. This leaflet is a brief explanation of how the two landscapes of the WHS are managed.
The leaflet will be distributed at key community sites and available when the Coordination Unit attends meetings and events.
Explore the wider Stonehenge World Heritage landscape with a National Trust guide discovering hidden histories and ancient mysteries.
An afternoon walk up on the downs learning about the ancient archaeology of the Stonehenge World Heritage Site. On this 4 mile walk with views of the stone circle, we’ll visit ancient earthworks that have revealed much about the people who once lived and celebrated here. Talking points include the Cursus, the many and varied barrows, and an ancient avenue connecting ceremonial centres.
Booking details:
Call 0844 249 1895A 5% booking fee applies. Phone lines are open Mon to Fri 9am-5.30pm, plus Sat and Sun 9am-4pm. National Trust website
Suitability:
Accompanied children welcome, free. Dogs on leads are welcome.
Meeting point:
Meeting in a car park off Tombs Road (Larkhill) at OS grid reference SU 14382 43626 (nearest postcode SP4 8NB). A map of the meeting point on can be found on the event’s webpage.
What to bring and wear:
Dress for the weather – wrap up warm as it gets chilly up on the downs – and wear stout footwear. You may like to bring a drink and a snack.
Accessibility:
Access is by pedestrian and farm gates; the terrain is mostly grassland and trackways, often uneven underfoot. Cattle and sheep graze the gently sloping downs.
Other:
Please note, traffic on the A303 is often congested around holidays and weekends. Although your guide will tell you about it, this walk doesn’t visit the Stone Circle. You might like to visit it before the walk; NT members are admitted free.
A YEAR after the Government announced plans to build a 2.9km tunnel under Stonehenge three public bodies have released a film promoting the benefits of burying the A303.
Film promoting Stonehenge tunnel released by public bodies
Historic England, the National Trust and English Heritage hope that construction of the tunnel will improve wildlife and nature at the World Heritage Site.
Ian Wilson, Assistant Director of Operations for the National Trust in Dorset and Wiltshire, said: “We really hope the film brings to life the very real benefits that a tunnel could bring to the Stonehenge Landscape, for people and for wildlife.
“A full scheme has yet to be designed, but the Trust supports the Government’s proposals in principle and we are committed to engaging with Highways England and others to ensure that any scheme will be fully and carefully considered and assessed.”
On the midwinter solstice, explore the ancient monuments of the Stonehenge landscape with National Trust. This walk is around three and a half miles. (December 20th 2015)
Stonehenge does not stand in isolation, but forms part of a remarkable ancient landscape of early Neolithic, late Neolithic and early Bronze Age monuments. The best way to appreciate Stonehenge is on foot. You can enjoy the impressive Wiltshire countryside while exploring the ancient history that has shaped it. Follow in the footsteps of our ancient ancestors and discover the prehistoric monuments that fill the vast ancient landscape surrounding Stonehenge.
Stonehenge has far more than the stone circle. It encompass unrivalled Neolithic landscapes that contain many other fascinating and unique monuments. You could easily spend a whole day in either part of the World Heritage Site.
Containing more than 350 burial mounds and major prehistoric monuments such as the Stonehenge Avenue, the Cursus, Woodhenge and Durrington Walls, this landscape is a vast source of information about the ceremonial and funerary practices of Neolithic and Bronze Age people.
It can also help our understanding of regional and international contacts from the 4th to 2nd millennia BC, and shed light on how prehistoric society was organised.
National Trust Stonehenge Midwinter Walk: 20th December (1pm – 5pm)
Immerse yourself in the ancient landscape of Stonehenge, there’s so much to explore and many mysteries to unravel.
Booking essential (click here to book direct)
PLANS for a 2.9km tunnel under the Stonehenge world heritage site will scrutinised by experts today when they visit the monument.
Heritage experts visit Stonehenge to scrutinise tunnel plans
The government unveiled the proposal last year as part of a £2billion project to dual the A303 from Amesbury to Honiton, Devon.
Heritage officials from Unesco and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (Icomos) were invited to visit the site by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. They will meet with stakeholders including English Heritage and Wiltshire Council.
Ian Wilson from the National Trust said: “They will be spending several days here getting to know the landscape and the outline proposals.
“At the top of our list is agreeing how we can best work together to ensure that any scheme to tackle the blight of the road that dominates the Stonehenge Landscape is located in the right place and designed and built to the specification befitting a world heritage site.”
It is expected further trips will be made to Stonehenge as the plans become finalised.
Kate Davies, general manager of Stonehenge, said: “We’re looking forward to showing the advisors the recent improvements to Stonehenge, especially the removal of the old visitor centre and the grassing over of the A344, and highlighting how removing the A303 from the landscape would improve people’s understanding and enjoyment of the ancient stones and their setting.”
A guided tour of the amazing collections of the Wiltshire Museum, followed by a guided walk from Durrington Walls to Stonehenge. This full day tour will be led by Museum Director, David Dawson.
Note: this event was previously advertised for Saturday 19th September.and is now Thursday, 08th October, 2015
The morning visit to the Museum starts at 10.30am and the walk begins at 2pm. We should reach the Stonehenge Visitor Centre at about 5.30pm.
The day begins with coffee and a guided tour of the Wiltshire Museum. The early story of Wiltshire is told in new galleries featuring high quality graphics and leading-edge reconstructions. On display are dozens of spectacular treasures dating to the time of Stonehenge and worn by people who worshiped inside the stone circle.
The tour is followed by a light lunch at the Museum and minibus transport to the start of the walk, if required.
The walk will take approximately 3.5 hours, and starts at Durrington Walls and Woodhenge, close to the River Avon. The route passes the Cuckoo Stone, a megalithic standing stone, before following the Apple Track – a WW1 light railway. The route then passes the prehistoric Cursus, before passing the Bronze Age barrows of Kings Barrow ridge.
The route then follows the Avenue – the Neolithic ceremonial route that leads to Stonehenge following the line of the solstice.
At Stonehenge, you have three options:
1. Visit Stonehenge. This is free for English Heritage and National Trust members, but is not included in the cost. If you are not a member, then you should book your visit online from the English Heritage and you should choose a timed ticket for about 4.30 pm. You can then take the English Heritage shuttle bus to the Stonehenge Visitor Centre.
2. Continue to the Cursus barrows and the Western end of the cursus, before continuing to the Stonehenge Visitor Centre.
3. Take the English Heritage shuttle bus to the Stonehenge Visitor Centre and purchase a well-earned snack and cup of tea.
At about 5.30pm, at the end of the walk, there will be minibus transport back to your car at the start of the walk, or back to the Wiltshire Museum in Devizes.
Standing stones found buried near Stonehenge could be the “largest” intact prehistoric monument ever built in Britain, archaeologists believe.The large stones are located around the edge of the henge at Durrington Walls (Image copyrigh Ludwig Boltzmann Institute)
Using ground-penetrating radar, some 100 stones were found at the Durrington Walls “superhenge”, a later bank built close to Stonehenge.
The Stonehenge Living Landscapes team has been researching the ancient monument site in a five-year project.
Finding the stones was “fantastically lucky”, researchers said.
The stones may have originally measured up to 4.5m (14ft) in height and had been pushed over the edge of Durrington Walls.
The site, which is thought to have been built about 4,500 years ago, is about 1.8 miles (3km) from Stonehenge, Wiltshire.
The stones were found on the edge of the Durrington Walls “henge”, or bank, an area which had not yet been studied by researchers.
The stones could have measured up to 4.5m in height (Image copyright Ludwig Boltzmann Institute)
Lead researcher, Vince Gaffney said the stones were “lost to archaeology” but found thanks to modern technology.
National Trust archaeologist, Dr Nick Snashall said there were “hints” the stones could be buried in the landscape.
“In the field that lies to the south we know there’s a standing stone which is now the only standing stone, now fallen, that you can go up to and touch in the whole of the Stonehenge landscape,” he said.
“It’s called the Cuckoo Stone.
“If there are stones beneath the bank… they’re probably looking at stones of pretty much the same size as the Cuckoo Stone.”
Ground-penetrating radar was used to detect the large stones at Durrington Walls (Image copyright Geert Verhoeven)
Dr Snashall added there was a “sense” of an area set aside for the living and another for the dead at Durrington Walls – and that had changed over time.
“This gives us a a whole new phase that shows us that has started within 40 years of the site going out of use, or even less than that,” he said.
The findings are being announced later on the first day of the British Science Festival being held at the University of Bradford.
The row of stones were standing over the edge of the bank of the henge (Image copyright Ludwig Boltzmann Institute)
You now park over a 2 kilometres from Stonehenge itself, out of sight of the Stonehenge monument. Here there is a modern visitor centre and excellent exhibition and education facilities plus a spacious cafe and souvenir gift shop. A Stonehenge shuttle bus transports you between the visitor centre and the Stone Circle. English Heritage advise to budget for a visit of around 2 hours. The Visit Wiltshire App is a must for those visiting Stonehenge and the surrounding area.
Last admission time is 2 hours before the advertised closing time.
Entrance to Stonehenge is now managed through timed tickets and advance booking is required. Booking is the only way to guarantee entry on the day and at the time of your choice. Advance bookings are advised!
This includes FREE visits by English Heritage and National Trust members (applicable to members of the National Trust in England only – does not include National Trust Scotland or other National Trust affiliated organisations).
We aim to make this the ultimate source of the latest Stonehenge news available on the web. This blog is updated almost daily and promises to deliver accurate 'up to date' information on new theories, new digs, solstice events, Druid gatherings, the new visitor centre, general megalithic links and some fun along the way. We welcome your input....
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Mystery surrounds this 5,000 year old monument in the centre of the World Heritage Site. Visit this prehistoric South West site near Salisbury in Wiltshire, and decide for yourself whether Stonehenge was a place of sun worship, a healing sanctuary, a sacred burial site, or something different altogether!
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the National Trust at Avebury and in the Stonehenge Landscape play in managing the key monuments within the WHS but how the UK Government carries out the obligations of the World Heritage Convention 1972 are less well known. This leaflet is a brief explanation of how the two landscapes of the WHS are managed.
Stonehenge Stone Circle News and Information 