Stonehenge World Heritage site | PDF | 511.00 KB - English Heritage
Stonehenge World Heritage site | PDF | 511.00 KB - English Heritage
Stonehenge World Heritage site | PDF | 511.00 KB - English Heritage
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What has been done so far?<br />
Normanton Down barrow<br />
cemetery. In 2003 the crops<br />
were replaced by pasture.<br />
The burial mounds are now<br />
free of fences and grazed by<br />
sheep while the surrounding<br />
grassland is managed as a<br />
nature reserve by the RSPB.<br />
Grass restoration, funded by<br />
stewardship grants from<br />
Natural England, has been<br />
hugely successful.<br />
Many of the objectives of the 2000 Management Plan have<br />
been achieved:<br />
■ Since 2000, landowners have restored 520 hectares of<br />
arable fields to grassland to prevent plough damage and enhance<br />
the setting of prehistoric monuments, as part of an exemplary<br />
partnership project between Natural England, <strong>English</strong> <strong>Heritage</strong><br />
and the National Trust<br />
■ Oak signs featuring the <strong>World</strong> <strong>Heritage</strong> emblem and<br />
indicating distances to monuments were installed in 2004<br />
■ Scrub and woodland have been cleared from many<br />
monuments thanks to the National Trust, the Ministry of<br />
Defence, the RSPB, landowners and volunteers<br />
■ A virtual tour of 10 monuments was created for the <strong>English</strong><br />
<strong>Heritage</strong> web<strong>site</strong> in 2004 with panoramic views, videos and<br />
reconstructions<br />
■ The <strong>Stonehenge</strong> Archaeological Research Framework,<br />
outlining what we know so far and research priorities, was<br />
published in 2005<br />
■ Recent archaeological research has led to major<br />
discoveries including new monuments<br />
■ New educational activities on <strong>site</strong> and downloadable web<br />
resources have been created<br />
■ Volunteering opportunities in conservation and<br />
education are now available with the National Trust, <strong>English</strong><br />
<strong>Heritage</strong> and the RSPB<br />
2000 © <strong>English</strong> <strong>Heritage</strong><br />
Pupils from Amesbury on a school trip to <strong>Stonehenge</strong> - Did you know that<br />
<strong>English</strong> <strong>Heritage</strong> provides free entry to <strong>Stonehenge</strong> for learning groups?<br />
What is in the pipeline?<br />
Some objectives of the new Management Plan for the next<br />
10 years include:<br />
■ Continuing to conserve and enhance the prehistoric<br />
monuments through grass restoration, scrub clearance, etc<br />
■ Removing or screening inappropriate structures or roads, in<br />
particular the A344, and keep the A303 improvements under<br />
review<br />
■ Providing improved visitor facilities<br />
■ Further improving the interpretation and education provision<br />
■ Creating a network of sign-posted routes to help people<br />
explore the <strong>World</strong> <strong>Heritage</strong> Site<br />
■ Conducting a new condition survey to monitor the<br />
conservation of the <strong>World</strong> <strong>Heritage</strong> Site monuments since the<br />
first survey carried out in 2002<br />
<strong>Stonehenge</strong> <strong>World</strong> <strong>Heritage</strong> Site<br />
Hundreds of prehistoric monuments<br />
A unique testimony to prehistoric times<br />
Rachel Foster 2004 © <strong>English</strong> <strong>Heritage</strong><br />
<strong>Stonehenge</strong> <strong>World</strong> <strong>Heritage</strong> Site<br />
<strong>Stonehenge</strong><br />
<strong>World</strong> <strong>Heritage</strong> Site<br />
<strong>World</strong> <strong>Heritage</strong> Site<br />
Main archaeological<br />
monuments<br />
Rights of way and<br />
permissive paths<br />
National Trust open access<br />
Main roads<br />
Other roads<br />
River Avon<br />
Km<br />
<strong>Stonehenge</strong> and Woodhenge (both in the care of <strong>English</strong> <strong>Heritage</strong>) and<br />
some of the National Trust estate (see map above) are accessible to the<br />
public. The rest of the <strong>World</strong> <strong>Heritage</strong> Site is in private ownership and<br />
access is restricted to public rights of way and permissive paths.<br />
To explore the landscape, check out the National Trust web<strong>site</strong> for guided<br />
walks and downloadable trails. Getting to <strong>Stonehenge</strong> without a<br />
car is possible: there is a regular bus service from Salisbury train station<br />
(the <strong>Stonehenge</strong> Tour).<br />
Further information:<br />
www.english-heritage.org.uk/stonehenge<br />
If you would like this leaflet in a differerent format,<br />
please contact Customer Services: Tel 0870 333 1181<br />
Fax 01793 414 926 Textphone 01793 414 878<br />
Published by <strong>English</strong> <strong>Heritage</strong>, 2010<br />
stonehengewhs@english-heritage.org.uk<br />
©Crown Copyright and database right 2010. All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence number 100019088<br />
Publication 51615 © <strong>English</strong> <strong>Heritage</strong> 2010 Printed on recycled paper<br />
Cover photograph: James O Davies 2007 © <strong>English</strong> <strong>Heritage</strong><br />
<strong>Stonehenge</strong><br />
<strong>World</strong> <strong>Heritage</strong> Site
Why is <strong>Stonehenge</strong> a <strong>World</strong> <strong>Heritage</strong> Site?<br />
<strong>Stonehenge</strong> and Avebury became a <strong>World</strong> <strong>Heritage</strong> Site<br />
in 1986 for their outstanding prehistoric monuments from<br />
the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods.<br />
<strong>Stonehenge</strong> (3000-1600 BC) is the most famous and<br />
sophisticated stone circle in the world, aligned on the<br />
solstice sunrise and sunset.<br />
Ancient and mysterious, <strong>Stonehenge</strong><br />
is also an amazing feat of prehistoric<br />
engineering.<br />
James O Davies 2004 © <strong>English</strong> <strong>Heritage</strong><br />
What are <strong>World</strong> <strong>Heritage</strong> Sites?<br />
They are cultural and natural <strong>site</strong>s of<br />
outstanding universal value, like the<br />
Pyramids, the Taj Mahal, the Great<br />
Barrier Reef and Hadrian’s Wall.<br />
By signing the <strong>World</strong> <strong>Heritage</strong><br />
Convention, governments pledge to<br />
identify, interpret and protect these<br />
<strong>site</strong>s for the benefit of all humanity. The<br />
prestigious label is given by UNESCO<br />
after nomination by governments.<br />
What is the <strong>Stonehenge</strong> Management Plan?<br />
To meet UNESCO’s guidelines, the UK government requires<br />
all its <strong>World</strong> <strong>Heritage</strong> Sites to have a Management Plan.<br />
The <strong>Stonehenge</strong> Management Plan sets out a vision and<br />
a long-term strategy to protect the <strong>World</strong> <strong>Heritage</strong> Site for<br />
present and future generations.<br />
Its primary aim is to protect the prehistoric monuments and<br />
their landscape setting, taking into account other interests such<br />
as tourism, farming, research and nature conservation.<br />
The A344 cuts across the Avenue, a ceremonial route<br />
leading into the stone circle. Removing the road and improving<br />
the setting of <strong>Stonehenge</strong> are priorities.<br />
Isabelle Bedu 2010 © <strong>English</strong> <strong>Heritage</strong><br />
In 2009, <strong>Stonehenge</strong> welcomed over<br />
900,000 visitors. Access inside the<br />
stone circle stopped in 1978 because<br />
of overcrowding and erosion… but<br />
it’s still possible to go into the circle<br />
outside opening hours if you book in<br />
advance with <strong>English</strong> <strong>Heritage</strong>.<br />
Several round barrows are aligned on an earlier long<br />
barrow at the Winterbourne Stoke barrow cemetery,<br />
illustrating the long period of use of this landscape<br />
between around 3,700 and 1,600 BC.<br />
The surrounding landscape contains many other prehistoric<br />
monuments, such as the Avenue, the Cursus, Woodhenge and<br />
Durrington Walls. Like <strong>Stonehenge</strong>, their exact function remains<br />
unknown. Also significant is the exceptional concentration of<br />
burial mounds (over 350 in the <strong>World</strong> <strong>Heritage</strong> Site).<br />
The Avebury part of the <strong>World</strong> <strong>Heritage</strong> Site, about 30km<br />
north, includes an immense stone circle, avenues, long barrows<br />
and other outstanding prehistoric monuments such as Silbury<br />
Hill. The finds from excavations at <strong>Stonehenge</strong> and Avebury can<br />
be seen at the museums in Salisbury, Devizes and Avebury.<br />
Roger Featherstone 1993 © <strong>English</strong> <strong>Heritage</strong><br />
Who is involved in the management of the<br />
<strong>Stonehenge</strong> <strong>World</strong> <strong>Heritage</strong> Site?<br />
The <strong>Stonehenge</strong> <strong>World</strong> <strong>Heritage</strong> Site covers 2,600 hectares<br />
(6,500 acres) of chalk downland and arable fields in Wiltshire.<br />
It includes part of Amesbury and Larkhill, and the villages of West<br />
Amesbury, Normanton, Wilsford and Lake in the<br />
Woodford Valley.<br />
Ownership and management are shared between <strong>English</strong><br />
<strong>Heritage</strong>, the National Trust, the Ministry of Defence, the RSPB,<br />
Wiltshire Council, farmers and householders. Many others are<br />
also actively involved and work in partnership at <strong>Stonehenge</strong>,<br />
including Natural England, the Highways Agency, Amesbury<br />
Town Council and the Parish Councils. A <strong>Stonehenge</strong> <strong>World</strong><br />
<strong>Heritage</strong> Site Coordinator oversees and helps to implement the<br />
Management Plan.<br />
Major discoveries - One of the highlights of recent archaeological research was the<br />
discovery of Neolithic houses at Durrington Walls in 2005 and a new henge by the river Avon<br />
in 2008 (pictured). Free guided tours of the excavations were organised for the local<br />
community every summer between 2005 and 2008.<br />
"Excellent, very exciting. All these years didn't realise what was beneath my feet"<br />
Resident of Durrington, summer 2008<br />
2009 © Kate Fielden<br />
The <strong>Stonehenge</strong> <strong>World</strong> <strong>Heritage</strong> Site covers 26 km 2 and contains more than 400 protected<br />
prehistoric monuments. It is also a farmed and living landscape.<br />
The Plan outlines the significance of the <strong>site</strong>, key issues,<br />
long-term aims and policies. It contains a detailed action plan,<br />
maps and much supporting information in appendices.<br />
Published in 2009 after wide consultation, it has been<br />
endorsed by the UK government, by key stakeholders, and<br />
by Wiltshire Council as guidance for planning applications.<br />
It replaces the first Management Plan published in 2000.<br />
It’s not just about <strong>Stonehenge</strong>…<br />
wild flowers, insects and rare birds<br />
are taken into account in the<br />
management of the <strong>site</strong>.<br />
Lucy Evershed 2007 © National Trust<br />
Amazing artefacts such as this<br />
gold lozenge from Bush Barrow<br />
are on display in the museums in<br />
Salisbury and Devizes.<br />
© Wiltshire <strong>Heritage</strong> Museum<br />
Rachel Foster 2003 © <strong>English</strong> <strong>Heritage</strong><br />
What is the vision for the future?<br />
The <strong>Stonehenge</strong> <strong>World</strong> <strong>Heritage</strong> Site is globally<br />
important not just for <strong>Stonehenge</strong>, but for its<br />
unique and dense concentration of outstanding<br />
prehistoric monuments and <strong>site</strong>s, which together<br />
form a landscape without parallel.<br />
We will care for and safeguard this special area and<br />
its archaeology and will provide a more tranquil,<br />
biodiverse and rural setting for it, allowing present<br />
and future generations to enjoy it and the landscape<br />
more fully. We will also ensure that its special<br />
qualities are presented, interpreted and enhanced<br />
where necessary, so that visitors can better<br />
understand the extraordinary achievements of the<br />
prehistoric peoples who left us this rich legacy.<br />
(extract from the <strong>Stonehenge</strong> Management Plan 2009)<br />
1994 © Crown Copyright NMR 15041_26