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Littlestone L
Littlestone Jul 20, 2007 18:54:23
Replying to Littlestone

While the cancellation of the time capsule in Silbury is not yet quite assured I hope we may have won the battle on that one (we've certainly won morally). Thanks to Nigel Swift for his years of diligent work on the whole Silbury conservation issue; to all who support Heritage Action, and to others who have worked behind the scenes to get English Heritage to see sense on the time capsule issue. However, there is now the little matter of the 1968 Atkinson door. English Heritage's take on this is -

People hold differing views on whether the Atkinson entrance structure should be left or taken away, and there is a conservation-based argument for both positions. Our original plan was to transport the door to the Alexander Keiller museum in Avebury and to retain the concrete lintel in situ, but grassed over. We have revisited this plan and still feel that this is the approach that we will take, unless of course the concrete portal structure has to be removed for Health & Safety reasons.
Sorry, English Heritage, wrong again (and your assertion that there is a conservation-based argument for both positions is complete and utter nonsense). The same conservation arguments that were applied against your time capsule idea in Silbury are equally valid for, and will be applied to, any attempt to leave the Atkinson door or lintel in place. As Lord Avebury has already said, "Placing a foreign object in the monument offends conservation principles, as well as the spiritual beliefs of some people."

The Atkinson door and lintel must be removed in order to conform to accepted principles of conservation. Full stop.

W whipangel
whipangel Jul 20, 2007 20:05:47
Replying to Littlestone

I'm in agreement with that. I suppose that the 1968 tunnel may be deemed a part of 'the story', which may lend weight to a conservation argument, weak though.

Dropping door and lintel into the museum would be best - get the thing out of the Hill while preserving it's part.

But as it was a televisual event, well documented (Branded with the little 'S', which I rather like as a logo), do they need to go into the museum at all?

Treating some doors and a concrete block as artefacts is... well it reminds me of the man who picked the 'Alien' props from the studio dustbins to make an exhibition. Will they require conservation?!

N nigelswift
nigelswift Jul 21, 2007 06:48:40
Replying to Littlestone

Thanks for the praise Littlestone but the truth is all I've done is shot my mouth off publicly from the position of someone who has no personal or professional reputation to lose. The real work has been done by people inside and outside EH, archaeologists and non-archaeologists, who have been upset by some things that have gone on. I guess their role will never be revealed but they deserve to have their names on a plaque in front of the hill.

And what is the crux of the problem? Is it just that we're professional moaners? No. Its that EH have stayed secretive for seven years and not shared with the public. Plus, they have made some big mistakes, which is human, but never admitted to them or put them right, which is unacceptable in my view. Since some of these have involved the physical welfare of the hill they are more than unacceptable.

On that subject, I don't think we should count our chickens yet on the capsule. Winning an argument both intellectually and morally works in most arenas but I'm not convinced its enough in this case - which, if I'm right, will illustrate just how unacceptable the situation is. We'll see.

As for removing the door lintel, if it can't be done without a big loss of archaeology, so be it. But it would be nice to hear an expertexplain it wouldn't it? (Sounds familiar?) I presume a structural engineer's assessment exists, else why would it have been said? My local builder, name of O'Keefe, removed my living room chimney breast without causing a tenth of a millimeter of movement in the bedroom one above it.