Representation by Society of Antiquaries of London (Society of Antiquaries of London)
- Date submitted
- 10 January 2019
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
We have previously responded to Highways England's consultations on the proposals for improving the A303 past Stonehenge. Several of our concerns about the impact of the scheme on the archaeological landscape appear to have been met. It is welcome that the tunnel now respects the line of the cursus at the eastern end and that it now quite closely follows the line of the existing A303. The adoption of a cutting at the western end of the new tunnel means that the traffic will be shielded from view within almost all of the World Heritage Site (WHS), the sightlines for the solstice will be unimpeded and the tunnel mouth is no longer so close to the Normanton/Bell barrows.
However, many of details of how the scheme will be delivered require a great deal more thought, if the archaeological landscape is to be appropriately protected.
The 'outstanding universal value' of the Stonehenge WHS is cited as follows - 'The disposition, physical remains and settings of the key Neolithic and Bronze Age funerary, ceremonial and other monuments and sites of the period....together form a landscape without parallel'. It is also clear that the settings of this landscape extend beyond the boundaries of the WHS.
With this context in mind, our concerns about the proposed scheme are threefold - - that the design of the overall scheme minimises and mitigates potential damage to the archaeological remains; - that all necessary archaeological survey and and evaluation of the areas likely to be affected by the scheme are completed before the public examination of the scheme takes place; and - that, dependent on the Secretary of State's decision, further archaeological work arising from the survey and evaluation is carried out in any areas of significance which may be damaged by the scheme.
In particular, we have specific concerns about - - potential damage to the complex of archaeological sites surrounding the A303/360 junction and the proposed western cutting (the case for the sinking of the A303 into a cutting west of the western portal ramp needs to be considered more fully); - potential damage to archaeological remains in the area of the Winterbourne Stoke bypass to Longbarrow junction, arising from the contractors' site compounds and the treatment and disposal of the 'spoil' from the tunnellings; - potential negative impact on the important monuments located above the tunnel itself, arising from any movements in the subsoils during the tunnelling operations; - potential damage to archaeological remains in the wide corridor defined for the central section of the scheme, as a result of the infrastructure associated with construction works (haul roads, compounds and spoil heaps); - the potential impact on archaeological deposits of the proposed new link road at the eastern end of the scheme immediately north of a group of scheduled barrows.
This substance of this summary representation is consistent with points we have previously raised in our responses to Highways England.