Megalith - english-heritage.org.uk · Stonehenge World Heritage Site Newsletter JUNE 2012 Welcome ... had to respond to the question “Who are we and what does our World Heritage

MEGALITHStonehenge World Heritage Site Newsletter JUNE 2012

WelcomeWelcome to this Stonehenge WorldHeritage Site (WHS) Newsletter 2011-12. We hope that you will find it interesting and informative. We aim togive you a flavour of the many thingshappening in and around the World Heritage Site. If you have any questionsor queries as a result of this newsletterplease contact us by email on [email protected] by telephone on 01722 343 848.We’d love to hear from you!

The Stonehenge WHS Team

Introduction

Stonehenge and Avebury became a World Heritage Site (WHS) in 1986 for their outstanding prehistoric monuments fromthe Neolithic and Bronze Age periods. Stonehenge (3,000 –1,600BC) is the mostfamous and sophisticated stone circle in theworld, aligned on the solstice sunrise andsunset.

The surrounding landscape contains manyother prehistoric monuments, such as the Avenue, the Cursus, Woodhenge and Durrington Walls. Like Stonehenge, theirexact function remains unknown. Also significant is the exceptional concentration of burial mounds (over 350 in the World Heritage Site).

The Avebury part of the World HeritageSite, about 30km north, includes an immense stone circle, avenues, long barrows and other outstanding prehistoricmonuments such as Silbury Hill. The findsfrom excavations at Stonehenge and Avebury can be seen at the museums in Salisbury, Devizes and Avebury.

The Stonehenge World Heritage Site covers 2,600 hectares (6,500 acres) of chalk downland and arable fields in Wiltshire. It includes part of Amesbury and Larkhill, andthe villages of West Amesbury, Normanton,Wilsford and Lake in the Woodford Valley.

Ownership and management are shared between English Heritage, the NationalTrust, the Ministry of Defence, the RSPB,Wiltshire Council, farmers and house-holders. Many others are also activelyinvolved and work in partnership atStonehenge, including Natural England,the Highways Agency, Amesbury TownCouncil and the Parish Councils. The Stonehenge World Heritage SiteCoordinator oversees and helps to implement the Management Plan.

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Beth ThomasNew World Heritage Site Coordinator for Stonehenge

Beth Thomas started as the Coordinatorfor Stonehenge WHS in September 2011. Beth replaced Isabelle Bedu who was the Coordinator from 2001 to 2010.

Beth is familiar with the landscape of theStonehenge WHS as she started work forEnglish Heritage in 2003 when she took upthe role as the Head of Visitor Operationsfor Dorset and Wiltshire. During that timeBeth was responsible for Old Sarum and Old Wardour Castles in Wiltshire as well as a number of un-staffed sites such as theDovecote at Netheravon and LudgershallCastle. From 2009 to 2011 Beth worked inthe West Midlands, based at KenilworthCastle. Beth is very pleased to be back inthe beautiful county of Wiltshire. The role of the Stonehenge WHS Coordinator is toimplement the Stonehenge WHSManagement Plan working with the largenumber of partners who have responsibilitywithin the WHS.

The Management Plan is the action plan forthe WHS and a requirement for all WorldHeritage sites. The last plan was revised in2009 and is available from the EnglishHeritage website at

http://www.englishheritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/stonehenge/world-heritagesite/managing-stonehenge/.

Beth also worksclosely with hercounterpart, Sarah Simmonds, in the Aveburypart of the WHSon joint initiativesthat affect bothStonehenge andAvebury.

Stonehenge World Heritage Site


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40th Anniversary ofthe World HeritageConvention

Organised jointly by the National Trust,English Heritage and Wiltshire Council wecelebrated World Heritage Day in the yearof the 40th Anniversary of the WorldHeritage Convention with a fascinating tourof both parts of the World Heritage Site.

Starting in Avebury, Sarah Simmonds theAvebury WHS Officer, gave an introductionto what World Heritage means and how thearea has benefited from its World Heritagestatus. Dr Ros Cleal, Curator, then gave us aguided tour around the Alexander KeillerMuseum, one of the few museums in thecountry to be displaying objects in the placethat they were found. Dr Nick Snashall ofthe National Trust then took the party on awet and windy tour of the Avebury Henge.

After a rejuvenating lunch provided by theCircle Café we set off by bus to Stonehengeto explore the Stone Circle, Woodhenge andDurrington Walls to return to Avebury. Despite the torrential downpours those onthe tour, including some international visitors,all finished the day feeling that they had areally special day and appreciated muchbetter the many aspects which make theStonehenge & Avebury WHS so fascinating!

Timeline

1972 The World Heritage Conventionwas adopted by UNESCO

1984 The UK adopts the WorldHeritage Convention

1986 Stonehenge, Avebury andAssociated Sites World Heritage Sitewas inscribed onto the World HeritageList along with six other sites acrossthe UK including St Kilda, the Giant’sCauseway and Durham Cathedral andCastle.

1992 Avebury WHS produces the firstWHS Management Plan in the UK

2000 Stonehenge WHS produces itsfirst Management Plan

2007 UNESCO adds “the fifth C” –Community to its strategic objectives,highlighting the important role thatcommunities play in preserving WorldHeritage.

2009 Stonehenge WHS produces arevised Management Plan

2011 Stonehenge, Avebury andAssociated Sites World Heritage Sitecelebrates its 25th anniversary.

2012 40th Anniversary of the WorldHeritage Convention – 936 properties have been inscribed and 188 nationshave adopted the Convention.


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Youth Summit 2012 Greenwich World Heritage Site All Wiltshire Schools were given theopportunity to compete for a place for 5 youngsters to attend the 2012 UNESCOYouth Summit at Greenwich this June.Greenwich is to be the equestrian venue forthe London 2012 Olympic Games so it’s anexciting time to be there! The young peoplehad to respond to the question “Who arewe and what does our World Heritage Sitemean to us?” with a digital scrapbook. The winning teams were from SheldonSchool and South Wiltshire Grammar Schooland they will be attending the Youth Summitto meet other young people from the 20 ofthe UK’s 25 World Heritage Sites. If youwant to see the winning submissions checkout

http://swgsstonehengeunesco2012.weebly.comwww.weloveavebury.co.uk

The young people hadto respond to thequestion “Who are weand what does ourWorld Heritage Sitemean to us?

Photo: © National Maritime Museum

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RSPB NormantonDown Nature Reserve

A major part of the Normanton Downbarrow cemetery lies within the RSPB’snature reserve, where the aim is tomaintain a safe haven for the shy and elusivestone-curlew and restore flower richgrassland to the downland.

Just before the birds were back from thewintering quarters in North Africa, a newwarden for the Society’s Wiltshire reserves,Keeley Spate, was appointed to keep a trackon their activities. The first birds were in factspotted by the farm’s owner Rachel Hosieron 18th March 2011, when over 100 over-wintering golden plover were still present.The stone-curlews stayed on to nest andproduced two chicks, and 2011 was amemorable year as a record number of 70pre-migratory stone-curlews roosted in theautumn. Lapwing also had a good year withnine pairs and nineteen chicks counted ofwhich 7 fledged. Many other downland birdsbreed on the site, including yellowhammer,corn bunting, skylark and grey partridge. The ancient flora of the barrows continuesto colonise the newly created grassland andthis process was hastened in 2011 by sowingwildflower seeds harvested from SalisburyPlain and RSPB Winterbourne Downs onto a further 3 hectares.

A record number of 70 pre-migratory stone-curlews roosted in the autumn of 2011.

Stone curlews at Normanton Down

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Stonehenge & AveburyWHS Joint Projects - Condition Survey,Woodland Strategy,Burrowing AnimalsSurvey and ResearchFramework Over the past year a number of projectshave been undertaken in order to assess thecondition of the World Heritage Site andlook at how best to protect the OutstandingUniversal Value of the Stonehenge andAvebury WHS.

These include a Condition Survey whichassessed the condition of all archaeologicalsites in both parts of the WHS carried outby Wessex Archaeology in 2010/11 andfunded by English Heritage. They looked atimpacts on monuments such as ploughing,woody growth, burrowing animals, vehicledamage and erosion by visitors.

This information will be used to updateEnglish Heritage’s “Heritage at Risk“ recordand also by Natural England whenconsidering Stewardship schemes forlandowners. English Heritage, the NationalTrust, Ministry of Defence, Natural Englandwill be working over the next few years toprioritise the monuments most at risk andwork on strategies to reduce the risk in thefuture.

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A Woodland Strategyhas also beendeveloped, led by theNational Trust andfunded by NaturalEngland.The strategy makes recommendations onhow woodland should be managed acrossthe Stonehenge and Avebury WHS and wehope it will assist landowners when makingdecisions about managing woodland in thefuture.

Burrowing Animals Survey

The survey was undertaken by NaturalEngland to help us gain an understanding ofwhat damage animals such as moles, rabbitsand badgers are doing to our ancientmonuments. Burrowing activity can causeirreparable damage to the archaeology in theground and mean that our ability tounderstand the past is jeopardised.

National Trust staff and others were trainedon how to recognise the tell tale signs ofdamage and monuments were surveyed tosee where the animals were living in theWHS and assess the potential damage.

Research Framework

English Heritage has commissioned WessexArchaeology to undertake a review of theresearch that has been undertaken in bothparts of the WHS and then to work withexperts across the country to outline whatthe questions are that still remain.

This work is due for completion at the endof 2012. There are already separateResearch Frameworks for both Avebury andStonehenge but this is the first time that oneFramework will have been put together.There are so many aspects to life in theNeolithic and Bronze Ages which we areonly just beginning to discover andunderstand.

Burrowing activity can cause irreparabledamage to thearchaeology in theground and meanthat our ability tounderstand the pastis jeopardised.

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Stonehenge landscape:chronological conundrum The last episode of fieldwork for theStonehenge WHS Landscape Project was aseries of visits to sites on Boreland Farm inFebruary. This included an examination ofthe Lake Barrows and their crucialrelationships with major linear ditcheswhich are such a feature of this part of theWHS.

Having been kindly conducted on to the siteby Mr Max Hosier, the landowner, we made abeeline for barrows 45b and 46. A previoussurvey had concluded in 1979 that thesebarrows were later than the contiguouslinear earthwork and this seemed toconform to the excavation evidence whichsuggested that the supposed ‘North Kite’enclosure (of which this linear forms oneside) was of early Bronze Age date.

We had doubts, however, both about thedating and about the existence of the ‘NorthKite’ – is it really an enclosure or a fortuitoussurvival of linear earthworks that have beenploughed out elsewhere?

The relationship between the barrows andthe linear earthwork indeed proved difficultto read but careful examination suggested tous that the sequence should be reversed –the bank of the linear runs across the ditchof barrow 46 on its south side and the linearditch cuts the perimeter of disc barrow 45b. This is the sequence that we would expect – early Bronze Age barrows, laterBronze Age linear ditch – but we have toexplain the evidence recovered fromexcavation.

This consists of pottery and flint artefacts;the crucial items are a small number ofrefitting flint flakes and a sherd of Beakerlying on the old ground surface below thebank, found in 1983. Despite the excavator’sopinion that these dated the earthwork, theyclearly pre-date the linear itself and can nowbe considered to relate to earlier prehistoricactivity on this part of the down.

Mark Bowden, Dave Field and Sharon Soutar

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Wilsford Barrows 47 and 48 in the Lake Group Photo: © Mark Bowden, English Heritage


Olympics 2012 -Stonehenge in theNews! A number of important British landmarks arehosting the Olympic Torch as it travels thecountry and Stonehenge is no exception. Inaddition, Salisbury International Arts Festival,as part of the London 2012 CulturalOlympiad programme, have engagedCompagnie Carabosse from France who willbe installing a Fire Garden at Stonehengefrom 10 – 12 July 2012. Carabosse havestaged their striking installations acrossEurope. Each event is unique to its specificlocation, and here they will create aremarkable moment in the historic Wiltshirelandscape. Tickets for this MUST bepurchased in advance and are available at

www.salisburyfestival.co.uk

The Fire Garden isn’t the only mention ofStonehenge as part of the CulturalOlympiad. Many of you may have seenJeremy Deller’s “Sacrilege” in the news – thisTurner prize-winning artist has created areplica Stonehenge in the form of a bouncycastle as an interactive art installation. It isdue to “pop up” across the nation.

For further details about the London 2012Festival events please see the website

http://festival.london2012.com

Carabosse at Thabor de Renne July 2007

Jeremy Deller’s ‘Sacrilege’ at Glasgow International Festival

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Education in the World Heritage Site The English Heritage education team haveworked with the National Trust localcommunities and schools to develop‘Stonehenge Explorer’ backpacks to helpfamilies and schools explore the widerlandscape of Stonehenge.

The pack containsinformation and objectslinking to the CursusBarrows, the Stonehengemonument and thewoodland and chalkdownland. We have found

that the packs give visitors the confidence toexplore beyond the monument itself.

Many of our UK education visitors toStonehenge are studying travel and tourism,and to support their study we have created a new online resource called StonehengeHeritage Management. The resource is available online athttp://www.english-heritage.org.uk/education/resourses/stonehenge/ and ispacked with information about how the siteis managed, conservation issues and links to the plans for the new visitor centre.

When we consulted with educationaudiences about what would support theirvisit to Stonehenge, many were very keen toshow their students a film before the visit toset the site in context. We have beenworking with students from WiltshireCollege studying new media, film productionand cinematography to develop a film forschools visiting Stonehenge and the first draftversion will be reviewed this summer.

Our education volunteers at Stonehenge arereally enhancing the quality of the experienceof visiting schools through the welcome theyprovide groups and their involvement inleading and supporting the Discovery Visitprogramme. We are receiving excellentfeedback from both UK and overseasschools on the welcome provided by ourvolunteers.

We continue to work with our partners ineducation and outreach via the StonehengeLearning Outreach and Co-ordination Groupwhich is comprised of the National Trust,English Heritage, Wessex Archaeology,Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum andWiltshire Heritage Museum. Our partnershipwork includes teacher training, sharingvolunteer opportunities and workingtogether on workshops for youth andcommunity workers.


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Get Involved!- Volunteering in theWHSA large number of people are connected to the work of the WHS throughvolunteering with the partners of the WHSManagement Plan. The range is huge fromstewarding rooms or working in thecollections stores in the museums to scrubbashing in the landscape or welcomingschool groups visiting Stonehenge and itslandscape.

A volunteer social event was held at theSalisbury & South Wiltshire Museum inFebruary 2012 for volunteers from thepartner organisations. They heard an updateon the new Stonehenge visitor centre andenjoyed finding out what they do for eachother’s organisations. We are very gratefulto the Salisbury & South Wiltshire Museumfor hosting the event and allowing us “backstage” to explore their stores and thefascinating collection of books they have intheir library. We hope to plan future similarevents.

A volunteer socialevent was held at theSalisbury & SouthWiltshire Museum inFebruary 2012 forvolunteers from thepartner organisations.

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Find out more about volunteering at

www.englishheritage.org.uk/caring/get-involved/volunteering/www.nationaltrust.org.uk/get-involved/volunteer/www.rspb.org.uk/volunteering/www.salisburymuseum.org.uk/support-us/volunteer/http://www.wiltshireheritage.org.uk/services/index.php?Action=9

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Stonehenge LandscapeLarge parts of the Stonehenge WHSparticularly north of the A303, are open toall, free of charge 365 days a year. It’s awonderful place for the family to get somefresh air and exercise and explore historyand wildlife in an amazing place. There areresources available to help you enjoy thisfascinating landscape on the National Trustwebsitehttp://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/stonehenge-landscape/ where you can finddownloadable route planners and furtherinformation.

Both the National Trust and English Heritagerun tours and events in the Landscape -check out their websites for details!

Stonehenge Landscape, 3

Stonehenge Cottages, King

Barrows, Amesbury, Wiltshire,

SP4 7DD

TRAIL

Walking

GRADE

Easy

DISTANCE

3.5 miles (5.6km)

TIME

Around 2 hours

OS MAP

Landranger 184;Explorer 130

Contact01980 664780

[email protected]

FacilitiesToilets

Refreshments

Visitor centre

Stonehenge car park (EnglishHeritage)

nationaltrust.org.uk/walks

A King's viewThis walk explores chalkdownland at the heart of theStonehenge World Heritage Site.From Bronze Age burial moundsto ancient ceremonial pathways,the landscape surroundingBritain's most famous prehistoricmonument is full of intriguingarchaeology. There's also afantastic array of wildlife to lookout for all year round.This route includes four stiles, butthere are alternative routes whichonly use accessible gates. Pleaseemail us for more details.

TerrainThis circular trail follows hard tracks and gently sloping downs. Surfaces can be uneven, with potholesor long tussocky grass. Dogs welcome on a lead and under control, as sheep and cattle graze the fieldsand there are ground-nesting birds.

Things to see

Stonehenge

The famous Stone Circle is justone part of a complex ceremoniallandscape on Salisbury Plain.This developed over the course of2,000 years, during the Neolithicand the Bronze Age - startingmore than 5,000 years ago.

Grassland restoration

We’re restoring the chalkgrassland around Stonehengeafter many years of intensivefarming. As you walk alongKing Barrow Ridge keep aneye out for colourful wildflowerdisplays in summer, that attractbutterflies such as the MarbledWhite (pictured). Sheep andcattle grazing helps to keep thegrasslands rich in wildlife.

King Barrow Ridge

Many of the oldest barrows inthe Stonehenge World HeritageSite stand along King BarrowRidge. A line of 200-year-oldbeech trees make impressiveviewing all year. Keep an eye outfor Great Spotted, and Green,woodpeckers.

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Youth work in theWHS In October 2011, a group of youth workersfrom Wiltshire took part in a workshop tofind out how they can get young peoplemore involved with Wiltshire’s heritage. In the meeting, hosted by the Army WelfareService at Larkhill, they heard about projectsrun by a range of organisations, including theNational Trust, English Heritage, WiltshireHeritage Museum and Wiltshire Youth ArtsPartnership. After lunch, and braving hail andrain, they walked to Stonehenge, led by LucyEvershed of the National Trust. During theday, ideas were sparked and partnershipswere formed between the participants andthe heritage workers.

A workshop to findout how to get youngpeople more involvedwith Wiltshire’sheritage.

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More sessions will be held in the nearfuture. If you work with young people inWiltshire and would like to come along,contact Kath Graham at English Heritageon 0117 975 0732.

Latest Stonehenge research by EnglishHeritageVarious teams across English Heritagehave been carrying out new researchrelating to Stonehenge and itssurrounding landscape, in preparationfor the visitor centre exhibition. Our landscape archaeologists havebeen surveying and investigating all ofthe monuments and barrow cemeteriesin the WHS. A new laser survey ofStonehenge was carried out in May2011, and this is currently beingcarefully studied to see what newinformation it can tell us about the waythe stones were dressed and for detailsof carvings and graffiti.

Geophysical survey and new analysis of aerial photography has also taken place. And our scientists have been helping to pull together all kinds of information aboutprehistoric plants, animals and people’slifestyles, all of which will be fed into our new reconstructions of life at the time ofStonehenge.

The new exhibition and interpretationscheme will present the very latestknowledge about Stonehenge and itssurrounding monuments, so that our visitorsare fully equipped to understand and enjoythis unique prehistoric landscape.

Susan GreaneySenior Properties Historian, English Heritage

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The archaeological investigation team surveying earthworks at Stonehenge

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AveburyAvebury World Heritage Site ManagementPlan Review and Update

In 1992 a brief Management Statement wasput together by English Heritage outlining acoordinated approach to protecting andmanaging Avebury World Heritage Site. The first comprehensive WHS ManagementPlan based on extensive research, detailedstudies and public consultation was publishedin 1998. The Stonehenge Management Planwas produced soon after in 2000.

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The Avebury Plan was last updated in 2005and it is now time to review and update thePlan once again. The new Plan will need toreflect progress on objectives in the 2005Plan, emerging opportunities and challengesand changes in the management context. Evaluation of progress is now complete. The next step in the process will involveextensive engagement with WHSstakeholders including partner organisationsand the local community whose experience,expertise and knowledge will help shape the updated Management Plan. Formalconsultation on the draft Management Planwill take place in 2013.

For further information contact the Avebury World Heritage Site Officer Sarah Simmonds:[email protected] tel: 01225 718470


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Governance ReviewThere has been no wholesale review of the management of the Stonehenge andAvebury World Heritage Site since the1990s when the first steering groups were set up. A lot has changed since then in a number of areas and in particular theintroduction of the unitary authority,Wiltshire Council and a General Manager for the National Trust for Wiltshire coveringboth parts of the WHS. The steering groupsof both parts of the WHS agreed toundertake a review of how the Stonehengeand Avebury WHS is governed and managed.This was undertaken from January – Marchthis year by Egeria Heritage Consultancywho are very experienced in this area. Their conclusions are currently beingconsidered by the steering groups and keypartners of both Stonehenge and Aveburyand it is likely that any necessary changes willtake place in 2014.

Further contacts

www.nationaltrust.org.ukwww.english-heritage.org.ukwww.wiltshire.gov.uk/artsheritageandlibraries/museumhistoryheritage/worldheritagesite.htmhttp://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/worldwonders/stonehenge/

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Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sitesinscribed on the World Heritage List in 1986

United Nations

Cultural Organization

Published by English Heritage 2012 www.english-heritage.org.uk/stonehenge

Compiled by Beth Thomas

Designed by Michael Goddard /[email protected]

If you require an alternative accessible version of this document (for instance in audio, Braille or large print) please contact our Customer Services Department: Telephone: 0870 333 1181 Fax: 01793 414926 Textphone: 0800 015 0516 E-mail: [email protected]

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Megalith - english-heritage.org.uk · Stonehenge World Heritage Site Newsletter JUNE 2012 Welcome ... had to respond to the question “Who are we and what does our World Heritage