Thornborough "debate"

[Grubby]

quote:Originally posted by archae_logical

quote:Originally posted by Grubby

quote:Originally posted by archae_logical

quote:Originally posted by Grubby

So then, nationally important or not? Are the pits on Ladybridge Farm worthy of preservation in situ?

ooo er......

It all depends on your interpretation and your motive for same. English Heritage say they are nationally important as part of the Thornborough landscape. As they are the guardians of our heritage who am I to argue with that.

E

I think you have has much right to your own opinion on the matter as everyone else E and you are perfectly entitled to express it here if you wish. Remember that EH also said that the double pit alignment (SAM)was nationally important but allowed that to be dug up by Newcastle University... Are you suggesting that everything in the Thornborough landscape is nationally important and should be preserved? On what criteria? Is being part of the landscape justification in itself? If so how is it defined? WHere are its edges...

Thanks for giving me the right to express my opinion, although I thought I already had that right.

Is everything in the landscape of Stonehenge important (it is a World Heritage Site after all), or does it gain importance because of what it is associated with?

Has anyone defined nationally important yet?

Should developers and their archaeologists have more right to say what is and isn't important than someone who lives locally?

So many questions and so few answers.

E

Because whether a site is national important or not is a material consideration in a planning application and also the basis on which monuments are scheduled, there is a set of criteria by which a site is judged and given value. These criteria are a guide to profesional judgement (what a wonderful term) A site cannot be nationally important just because you want it too, it has to meet the criteria. Stonehenge is an interesting point. Not all the archaeology in the Stonehenge landscape is nationally important. In fact pits, ditches and flint scatters of a neolithic and bronze age date near Stonehenge itself have been scored by EH as being of local importance durng the latest tunnel and visitor centre proposals and will be destroyed if the schemes go ahead!. Surely these are part of that landscape?