costaexpress wrote:
Wow, Smithone you sound deadly serious. Obviously I will do nothing which could compromise such an important site, however, it is beginning to sound like our equivalent of Area 57, what goes on there that designates it 'Very private land' and makes it 'off limits' to the general public. I consider myself a very responsible antiquarian and would never do anything to endanger any protected site, however, you have of course raised the interest level enormously. Is it currently being worked? If not why is still so secretive, are there plans for further digs, are there artifacts still scattered around the area that could fall into the wrong hands, just whats the deal? (don't really expect you to answer that if it is so sensitive)
Hi Monganaut, thanks for the info, I found and printed out the walks from English Heritage, although they do cover familiar ground for me I am still looking forward to stomping around them again in particular paying a little more attention to the numerous barrows both North and South of the river. I was really looking forward to Blick Mead, however, may give it a miss until I can get official clearance following Smithone's request.
Thank you santuary, love the video, and want to follow the walk one day, however, on this occasion my description of Stonehenge and Environs is rather more limited to the Amesbury area.
Smithone has created a real dilemma for me, wont sleep tonight
Any suggestion that this is an Area 57 situation will amuse all the local people that have been directly involved in the community archaeology aspects for over a decade. Information is readily available on the University of Buckingham website, finds are on public display in the Amesbury History Centre, and talks are regularly given there by Professor David Jacques and others. A number of a new tranche of MA students have been writing up their research and this includes film, some of their predecessors have theirs in a form which will be published shortly. As for the latest information such as carbon dating takes time and money, information prior to official publication would devastate crucial funding streams. As for access arrangements - unsurprisingly the owners and their neighbours are anxious about attention as they live in a World Heritage Site with over a million visitors – they rightly have established strict ground rules and could shut down the archaeology project if it isn’t managed carefully. It is not just for this the team are nervous - in one case an experiment run for over a year by the Natural History Museum was completely ruined by a trespasser, in another a trespasser’s boot prints devastated a recently uncovered pristine Mesolithic surface, and a third incident saw all but a small fraction of the equipment lost to arson. As for further digs, it isn't possible to predict until the results of the recent excavation are fully considered, and in case no one has noticed, we are fighting a Stonehenge tunnel that threatens the site through dewatering the WHS. Hi Monganaut, thanks for the info, I found and printed out the walks from English Heritage, although they do cover familiar ground for me I am still looking forward to stomping around them again in particular paying a little more attention to the numerous barrows both North and South of the river. I was really looking forward to Blick Mead, however, may give it a miss until I can get official clearance following Smithone's request.
Thank you santuary, love the video, and want to follow the walk one day, however, on this occasion my description of Stonehenge and Environs is rather more limited to the Amesbury area.
Smithone has created a real dilemma for me, wont sleep tonight
As stated, please respect the site, your cooperation is relied upon. Thank you.
