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Stonehenge tunnel plans could 'destroy' Ice Age site | Stonehenge tunnel plans could 'destroy' Ice Age site |
(about 11 hours later) | |
Construction of a tunnel past Stonehenge could destroy an Ice Age archaeological site, experts have warned. | Construction of a tunnel past Stonehenge could destroy an Ice Age archaeological site, experts have warned. |
Blick Mead, close to the Wiltshire stone circle, is the only place in Britain where human habitation can be traced back to 8,000BC. | Blick Mead, close to the Wiltshire stone circle, is the only place in Britain where human habitation can be traced back to 8,000BC. |
An archaeologist has claimed a public consultation map deliberately minimises the impact of the road on the site. | An archaeologist has claimed a public consultation map deliberately minimises the impact of the road on the site. |
Highways England said the plans were "never intended as a geographical map". | Highways England said the plans were "never intended as a geographical map". |
Perfectly preserved hoofprints of wild cattle known as aurochs have recently been found the Blick Mead site about a mile from the stone circle. | |
The 6,000-year-old prints, preserved in what appears to be a ritualistic manner, are the latest finds in a decade-long dig at the site, which Prof David Jacques said formed a "national archive of British history". | |
The tunnel proposal, which is part of £1.6bn upgrade to the A303, which links the M3 from London to the M5 to the south-west of England. | |
A public consultation on the scheme begins on 8 February. | A public consultation on the scheme begins on 8 February. |
However, Prof Jacques, from the University of Buckingham, said a map of the route has put Blick Mead in the wrong place, where construction of the flyover and tunnel would be less damaging. | |
He claims its actual location is beneath the proposed footings of an 8m-high flyover. | |
The archaeologist also claims construction work on a tunnel and flyover would lower the water table, drying out the peat and silt conditions which preserve archaeological remains. | |
"Essentially the place is like a national archive for organic material which are like documents. It would be like destroying a unique library," he said. | "Essentially the place is like a national archive for organic material which are like documents. It would be like destroying a unique library," he said. |
The government has backed plans to put the A303 into a tunnel as it passes the stone circle to ease congestion and improve the setting of the World Heritage site. | The government has backed plans to put the A303 into a tunnel as it passes the stone circle to ease congestion and improve the setting of the World Heritage site. |
The plans include eastern and western entrances to the tunnel and a possible flyover at the Countess Roundabout near Amesbury. | The plans include eastern and western entrances to the tunnel and a possible flyover at the Countess Roundabout near Amesbury. |
David Bullock, from Highways England, said: "The document in question is a land ownership boundary plan. | David Bullock, from Highways England, said: "The document in question is a land ownership boundary plan. |
"The plan shows indicative general features and was never intended as a geographical map." | "The plan shows indicative general features and was never intended as a geographical map." |
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