CBA Response to Scrapping of Plans
The Council for British Archaeology (CBA) has responded to news that the proposed tunnelling of a main road past Stonehenge is to be reviewed after its estimated cost doubled. The CBA hopes the Government will reconsider the whole scheme.
"We were strongly opposed to the planned tunnel," said Mike Heyworth, Director of the CBA. "Now it sounds as if they're going to kick it into the long grass."
A statement from the CBA confirmed that it remains: "resolutely opposed to the proposals for a short tunnel, which removes the A303 from the immediate vicinity of the stones but only at the cost of major damage to the rest of the World Heritage Site. The CBA believes that it is essential to look beyond the area visible from Stonehenge itself, as its prehistoric builders so clearly did, to appreciate the extraordinary landscape of ceremonial and funerary monuments around it."
Mike Heyworth explained that for the CBA, the most pressing issue is the closure of the A344 (which runs right by the stones) and the relocation of the visitor centre. He believes there are other options that haven't been explored, in particular a new surface route outside the World Heritage Site, which the CBA will be strongly pushing for.
He commented: "It is ironic that the Government has made this announcement during National Archaeology Week ... The CBA urges the Government to use the forthcoming review to seek a world class solution for a world class archaeological landscape."
taken from the article by Caroline Lewis
at the 24hr Museum website
http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/nwh_gfx_en/ART29513.html
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Reactions to Stalled Tunnel Plans
The "national disgrace" of Stonehenge is back where it started. After decades of argument and millions spent, the government yesterday went back to the drawing board on the traffic-choked roads which strangle the world heritage site.
Supporters and opponents of the tunnel were equally stunned. The Campaign to Protect Rural England, noting the approved proposal for a new 50-mile toll motorway beside the M6, said: "The government's green credentials have withered in the heat."
English Heritage, whose new, Australian-designed visitor centre is dependent on resolving the roads issue, said it understood concern over costs."However, we continue to believe that the proposed road scheme represents the best value for money for achieving all the desired improvements while offering protection to the underlying archaeology."
The National Trust, owner of thousands of acres of surrounding farmland, has called for a much longer tunnel. It said the review "should not in any way diminish the quality of the long-awaited project, or delay it substantially".
Mike Pitts, an archaeologist who has excavated at Stonehenge, and written about the site, said: "This is terrible news. In the wake of winning the London bid for the Olympics, it hardly encourages belief in the government's support for grand projects."
from the article by
Maev Kennedy in The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1532745,00.html
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Scheme Review Announced As Costs Soar
Roads Minister Dr Stephen Ladyman today announced that a detailed review of the options to ease congestion on the A303 and improve the setting around Stonehenge is to be carried out.
The review is necessary because there has been a very substantial increase in the estimated costs of the proposed Stonehenge tunnel since the scheme went to Public Inquiry.
Following recent detailed site survey work carried out by the Highways Agency the estimated costs of the scheme have risen from £284m when the draft Orders were published in 2003 to some £470m. This significant increase on original costs is due to two main factors; very large quantities of phosphatic (soft, weak) chalk and a high water table, with the groundwater potentially rising to the surface at times of heavy rainfall. These factors would significantly complicate the tunnelling process and extend the overall construction period of the scheme.
Dr Stephen Ladyman said:
"The increase in scheme costs represents a significant change to the basis on which the Government originally decided to progress this scheme. Our recognition of the importance of Stonehenge as a World Heritage Site remains unchanged but given the scale of the cost increase we have to re-examine whether the scheme still represents value for money and if it remains the best option for delivering the desired improvements".
The Government plans to carry out a detailed review of the options, consulting relevant environmental interests including, in particular, English Heritage and the National Trust, before taking a final decision on the Inspector's Report. The review will also consider the implications of delaying the Stonehenge scheme for the delivery of improvements proposed for other single carriageway sections of the A303 further to the west. We will make an announcement on the way forward as soon as possible.
more at the DoT website:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pns/displaypn.cgi?pn_id=2005_0081
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Replica Stonehenge Still Looking For A Home
If you have a large garden and would like a full-size replica of Stonehenge to impress your neighbours and visitors then you need to speak to Channel 5.
The biggest problem is that it measures 33 metres across. The good news, however, is that it is light to carry about because all of the replica stones are made of polystyrene.
Exact copies of each stone were made at a military camp near Bicester, the only place big enough the programme makers could find. It took a fleet of 14 articulated lorries to transport the replica stones to Wiltshire. The chosen location, said Mr Pitts, was a hilltop near Warminster.
Mr Pitts said the most important aspect for him as an archaeologist was the detailed inspection of the real monument that had to be carried out so that the stones could be replicated. He said: "I realised how little time we had actually spent before looking at the stones themselves."
He said: "It has impressed us so much that we are talking seriously about a proper modern survey of the megaliths using modern techniques." Such a survey could reveal much about the stones, where they had become from, the way they had been shaped and possibly the way they were originally put up.
Anyone wishing to acquire the replica should get in contact with Channel Five.
more at
http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/wiltshire/marlborough/news/MARLB_NEWS_LOCAL2.html
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Cinderbury Iron Age Village Opens This Weekend
A new attraction which offers visitors the chance to experience life as an Iron Age villager opens this weekend. The Cinderbury settlement near Coleford in the Forest of Dean, includes several roundhouses, an iron smelting furnace, pottery kiln and clay-domed bread oven.
People can visit for the day, for a weekend, or experience an entire week, where they will wear authentic clothes, forage for food or learn to weave.
Director Jasper Blake said Cinderbury aims to be both fun and education. "The idea is that they come and experience some of the life an Iron Age person might have lived," he said.
"We don't want to make it a survival holiday, we want people to get back in touch with raw materials like wood and iron and stone."
Those braving a week's stay will live in a communal roundhouse, sleeping on animal skins, existing on a pre-Roman diet which excludes caffeine, sweets or potatoes and using compost-style toilets.
No mobile phones, wrist watches or any modern accessories will be allowed, although "tribal staff" will have access to telephones for emergencies.
"It's not the only thing, we are open to day visitors and school parties, it's very much an educational type project," said Mr Blake, who hopes to inspire an interest in archaeology.
from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/gloucestershire/4647917.stm
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Campaign Groups Keep Up Pressure
Protesters to deluge council over quarry
By Richard Edwards
Protesters fighting a quarry plan near an ancient Yorkshire monument are to hit a council with the biggest number of objections in its history. Campaign groups Timewatch and the Friends of Thornborough Henges have been campaigning for more than a year against Tarmac's scheme at Ladybridge Farm, Nosterfield, near Ripon.
Timewatch will hand 1,500 letters of objection and a petition on Monday that will carry more than 10,000 signatures to North Yorkshire County Council planning chiefs.
The response will be the largest number of objections the council has ever received to a single application.
Timewatch chairman George Chaplin said: "Our response shows that the application is fundamentally flawed and contrary to council planning policy on many counts.
He added: "We feel that by showing we are more than willing to argue our case, together with significant public support, we can ensure that right is done at Thornborough."
taken from the article at Leeds Today
http://www.leedstoday.net/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=39&ArticleID=1073879
coverage also at the bbc website
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/north_yorkshire/4642175.stm
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Public Meetings on July 13th and 25th
Peterborough City Council is to hold two public meetings about plans to build a renewable energy plant near the famous Flag Fen Bronze Age site.
Local residents and businesses will get the opportunity to question the company behind the £250 million, 29-acre waste processing energy park proposed for the site at Fengate in Cambridgeshire.
The two-hour meetings will be held on July 13 at Peterborough Central Library and on July 25 at Peterborough Town Hall Council Chamber.
The developers estimate that the plant could handle more than a million tonnes of waste each year. Innovative technology will then be used to generate electricity by burning the waste along with biomass (organic matter such as plants) at very high temperatures in an oxygen deficient environment.
Dr Pryor recognises the importance of renewable energy: "Anyone living in the fens has to be in favour of any electricity generation which doesn't contribute to global warming and I'm wholly in favour, in principle. But," he added, the location of the plant "seems to me really very insensitive." While he considers the possibility of a visitor centre at the plant to be a good idea, he added: "It isn't going to make up for the impact of the development."
Responsibility for approving or disapproving the planning application lies with the Department for Trade and Industry. The city council has until September to compile a report and make comments for consideration.
For more information about the development visit http://www.prel-online.co.uk and to see the full planning application online see the Peterborough City Council website
http://www.peterborough.gov.uk/page-4166
Taken from the 24hourmuseum article at
http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/nwh_gfx_en/ART29265.html
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Campaigners Criticise Progress of Project
The controversial tunnel under Stonehenge was dubbed "the new Bath Spa" by campaigners yesterday after the cost of the project soared to £223million. The Department for Transport (DfT) said the previous figure of £193million had ignored the cost of buying and preparing the land for the tunnel, designed to hide the A303, which passes near the ancient Wiltshire monument.
Stonehenge campaigners said the project was looking more and more like the disastrously overpriced Bath Spa and Millennium Dome projects.
The cost of the mile-long tunnel was originally put at £183million in 2002, but Transport Minister Stephen Ladyman yesterday said "some further increase in costs is now anticipated".
The "Save Stonehenge" group said delays and price increases could lead Ministers to abandon plans for the road altogether.
And druid leader King Arthur Pendragon - who led a pagan service at the monument at Tuesday's solstice festival - warned that the "biggest protest in Europe" would be staged if the Government rejected the tunnel in favour of a cheaper option.
He said the Government could opt for a "cut and cover" tunnel, which would involve sinking the road then adding a roof, rather than boring a tunnel.
"If the Government did that, it would devastate so much archaeology - they could expect the biggest protest in Europe, " he said.
"Stonehenge is up there with the pyramids in Egypt for cultural significance, so they have to get it right. But they also have to get on with it - the longer they take the more it will cost and the less chance they will build the road at all.
"It is being handled like the Millennium Dome - needless bureaucracy making what is already a very expensive project into an unattainable one."
Chris Woodford, of Save Stonehenge, said: "It is increasingly likely the Government will not approve the tunnel. If the price goes up much more it will simply not be affordable. You can imagine the Government thinking this is a Millennium Dome-type white elephant and giving up on the project."
The planning inspector's report on last year's public inquiry into the road was completed in January, but the DfT has still to decide whether to approve the tunnel.
Added to this, plans for a new £57million visitor centre have been submitted to Salisbury District Council by English Heritage. These are the subject of another planning inquiry, but if DfT rejects the tunnel then there is no hope for the visitor centre.
Terence Meaden, of the Stonehenge Society, said the bureaucracy was holding up the project and adding to the cost.
He said: "Nowadays, everybody gets consulted and there are so many bodies and committees sticking their noses in. There are similarities with the Bath Spa situation."
But David Batchelor, an archaeologist for English Heritage, played down concerns about the project. He said: "It would be nice if the process went forward faster, but it takes time and we have to accept that."
article at the Western Daily Press website
http://www.westpress.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=146278&command=displayContent&sourceNode=146274&contentPK=12705772
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Details of Opening Ceremony - Wednesday 29th June
http://www.kent.gov.uk/your-council/news/june-05/jun-23-a.html
Time: 11am (speeches at 11.15, opening ceremony 11.45)
Location: Swanscombe Heritage Park, Craylands Lane, Swanscombe
Details: Phil Harding from Wessex Archaeology – part of Channel 4's Time Team - will cut a ribbon to celebrate the park's new entry feature. This is a sculpture based on a 400,000-year-old hand axe discovered in the park. The ceremony will celebrate many hours of work by the local community, businesses and public sector in restoring one of the most important archaeological sites in northern Europe. It also marks the 70th anniversary of the discovery of human skull fragments there.
Local schoolchildren will enjoy an organised treasure hunt in the park and will take part in the opening ceremony. Guests will be offered an optional guided tour of the site at 12 noon to see the project work which has been carried out by Groundwork Kent Thameside and Swanscombe Action Group. A short display of the ancient art of flint-knapping will also be given at 12 noon.
Speeches will be given by Swanscombe Action Group Chairman, Cllr Bryan Read, Patrick Conrad from Groundwork Kent Thameside, KCC Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport Richard King and Professor Chris Stringer from the Natural History Museum. The project has been supported by a number of partners with part funding from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. KCC is the accountable body.
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Don't Let Flag Fen Suffer Like Thornborough, Campaigner Warns
A heritage campaigner has warned that Flag Fen could become the next Thornborough if plans to plans to build a waste processing plant near the famous Bronze Age site succeed.
George Chaplin told the 24 Hour Museum that a vast waste processing plant at Flag Fen could affect the site in the same way as quarrying has affected Thornborough.
"We at Time Watch are very concerned that Flag Fen could be turned into another Thornborough," he said. "Sites like Flag Fen, which are already established as being extremely important, have been invested in," he added, "and because of the investment we've already made what we should avoid at all costs is ruining that."
The company behind the planning application is Global Olivine UK, which hopes to build a £220 million 38-acre waste processing plant to recycle waste and turn it into electricity.
While George suggested that many of the 20,000 visitors who flock to Flag Fen every year would inevitably be put off by the industrial plant, he also highlighted the potential for damage to archaeology still in the ground.
"We are concerned about the impact on archaeology by things like leakage," he said, "and the impact on the local environment." All this, he added, when instead we should be "turning Flag Fen into our archaeological flagship."
His words follow the concerns, reported by the 24 Hour Museum last week, of Flag Fen Manager Toby Fox: "It's absolutely on top of us. We are very concerned," he said. "On a 30-acre site, the amount of rainfall that will hit a concrete slab and be used in the cooling towers will have a direct effect on the surrounding land," he said. "It won't be keeping the archaeological remains wet. We're trying desperately to protect our heritage and we feel that this will compromise that."
Heritage experts and members of the Flag Fen team are not the only worried voices. On June 23 it was reported in the city's Evening Telegraph newspaper that Peterborough MP Stewart Jackson has called for a public inquiry into the plans. The same publication has also run stories relaying the reservations of residents and businesses in the area.
According to Peterborough City Council, the plans will not be approved or disapproved by them. Instead, because it is an electricity generating plant, it falls within the Electricity Act, putting responsibility for making a decision in the hands of the Department for Trade and Industry.
The council's role is as one of several consultees who will advise the DTI on the application. Council officers will put together a report for councillors to consider, following which their views and recommendations will be presented to the DTI. The deadline for submission is late September.
Despite its restricted role, the council told the 24 Hour Museum that it would be taking archaeological, as well as other environmental, concerns into account.
"Council officers are carefully evaluating all aspects of the planning application," reads a statement, "including the proposed development's likely impact on highways, archaeological sites, air quality, landscape, wildlife, ground water regime, water pollution, waste management and noise nuisance to nearby residential and commercial properties."
The 24 Hour Museum tried to contact Global Olivine, but calls and emails were unanswered.
From the article at the 24 Hour Museum
http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/images/head_nwh.gif
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Panels to Illustrate Archaeologists' Discoveries
To the untrained eye the Bloodgate Hill Iron Age hill fort at South Creake, near Fakenham, is nothing more than a circular mound in a grassy field. But with the aid of aerial photo-graphs, hi-tech surveying equipment and painstaking excavation work archaeologists have unearthed the fort's past and provided a glimpse at the turbulent early history of Norfolk. The site is to be preserved thanks to the work of the Norfolk Archaeological Trust, a local charity which, two years ago, bought the field in which it sits.
Tomorrow, the Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk Richard Jewson will unveil two information panels at the fort, explaining the ancient settlement's past and giving visitors an impression of what it once looked like. It is one of only six known pre-Roman hill forts in the county.
Dr Peter Wade-Martins, director of the Norfolk Archaeological Trust, said the fort, probably built between two and three thousand years ago, was an important reminder of what life was like in pre-Roman Britain.
The fort would originally have had a four-metre deep outer ditch surrounding a bank topped with a wooden palisade. Measuring 210m across, it is one of the biggest in Norfolk and has some unusual features - the main entrance, to the east, is in line the entrance to the inner ditch and mound, which is rare in Iron Age forts. There is also evidence of at least two smaller entrances to the west and other fences and gates within the fort.
Plenty more information and a picture at the EDP website
in the rest of this article by Edward Foss.
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Laser Scans for Northumbrian Rock Art
Examples of rock art are to be recorded with '3D laser scanning' as part of the Northumberland and Durham rock art project. This is being funded and co-ordinated by the two county councils and English Heritage.
The project's main aim is to develop new and undamaging approaches to recording and conserving rock art.
Rock Art project officer Tertia Barnett said: "Laser scanning has been used to record only a handful of prehistoric carvings and this will be the largest number of carved panels scanned by one project.
"The scanner sends a laser beam across the rock and records very small changes in the surface. Changes of less than 0.5mm (0.02in) can be captured and recorded as digital data on a computer and used to create extremely accurate three-dimensional reconstructions of the rock surface and carvings."
She said the technique would not damage the rock surface.
"It's a powerful tool for conserving rock art and it allows us to look in detail at things such as the techniques used to make the prehistoric carvings and subtle changes in the rock structure where it might have been eroded or damaged", she said.
"This will help us assess how to protect the carvings from further decay."
Computer generated reconstructions can also be manipulated to create 3D animations for museum displays and exhibitions.
Northumberland and Durham have more than 1,000 examples of rock art and the project aims to compile a complete record.
from the BBC article at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4125078.stm
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Swanscombe Sculpture to be Unveiled
A sculpture inspired by a paleolithic hand axe will be unveiled at Swanscombe Heritage Park on June 29. The ceremony links in with the 70th anniversary of the internationally significant discovery of skull fragments at the site.
It also marks the culmination of two years of work to rid the site of dumped cars, fly-tipping and illegal motorcyclists.
The axe sculpture and clearance work forms part of the A Walk into History project which is being managed by charity Groundwork on behalf of the Swanscombe Action Group.
The project was set-up with a £370,000 grant from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister via Kent County Council.
Groundwork's landscape architect David Robinson said: "We hope this exciting sculpture will not only provide an interesting landmark for visitors but also raise the public's perception of the archaeological importance of the park."
'Info taken from
This is Local London
A picture of the designer with his design at
http://www.groundwork.org.uk/kent/news/SHP%20design.htm
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Repair Project Nears Completion
A year-long project to restore and preserve an Iron Age hill fort on the Painswick Beacon is nearing completion. The £80,000 initiative involved repairs to the ancient ramparts at Kimsbury Camp and new measures to reduce erosion caused by walkers and history-lovers.
Built sometime between 400 and 100BC, the fort is considered to be nationally important by archaeologists and the limestone grassland is a haven for rare orchids and butterflies.
"The work is extremely important," said county archaeologist Jan Wills. "Painswick is so well-visited by walkers, the local community and people who come to see the fantastic views that the pressure of visitors' feet has literally worn away the ramparts. The state of the site has been a concern for some time but it is only when the funding comes together that you have the chance to do something about it."
The work was led by county archaeologists and was largely funded by national bodies like the Heritage Lottery fund, who contributed £50,000, English Heritage and English Nature.
Local bodies, chiefly the Painswick Beacon Conservation Group, was heavily involved in getting the project started. Group secretary Cedric Nielsen said: "It was almost at the point where if someone gave it a good push it would all fall down. This means people will be able to see the view and enjoy the fort but hopefully we are managing the erosion and making a better job of it."
The work, which will include information boards about the site's history and wildlife, is expected to be completed in a month's time.
From the This is Stroud web site (also less comprehensive coverage of this item on the BBC News web site).
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Debate on future of Castle Hill
People in Huddersfield are being asked whether a pub should remain on Castle Hill - there has been one for nearly two centuries, but a recent unapproved addition to the building there led to it being demolished.
Kirklees Council deputy leader Clr John Smithson said: "I promised back in November 2004 that there would be public consultation once the structure was demolished. I am very pleased that this will now include a comprehensive conservation plan as required by the Heritage Lottery Fund."
English Heritage will be involved as the land is a nationally-important archaeological site and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Issues under review will include: access, car parking, visitor facilities, use of Victoria Tower, the condition and erosion of the earthworks.
Summarised from icHuddersfield
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Work to start soon on Lynn Museum
Work on a £1 million revamp for Lynn museum is due to start in July. The project has been funded with £778,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund, £125,000 from Norfolk County Council and donations from other sources.
When complete, the new-look museum will include a new exhibition area and a collections study gallery allowing more objects to be displayed. Interactive displays will tell the history of Lynn and West Norfolk. There will also be better access for the disabled and new facilities for running educational activities and events. The Grade II listed building will also undergo necessary repairs during the revamp.
Originally a Union Baptist Chapel built in 1859, the distinctive building will benefit from new lighting, heating, environmental monitoring systems and alarms.
Building work is expected to last until December with the new facilities and temporary exhibitions open by Easter 2006 and the final displays in the summer of 2007.
Around half to two-thirds of the original timbers and the central stump of the Seahenge circle will be at the museum from early 2007. All the timbers from Seahenge, which made national headlines in 2001, will be at the museum but there won't be room to display the entire circle, although the final display sizes have yet to be finalised. The timbers are currently with the Marie Rose Trust in Portsmouth where work is being carried out to permanently preserve them so they can go on display. The treatment involves soaking the timbers in a wax substance before they are vacuum freeze-dried – a time-consuming process.
taken from
http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=991&ArticleID=1028952
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New report on Bronze age site at Fishguard
A fire last year? destroyed a large area of heather and scrub above Fishguard's ferry port in Pembrokeshire. The land is owned by the National Trust and by Stena Sealink, and is used by grazing stock, fishermen and walkers.
Polly Groom, an archaeologist for Pembrokeshire National Park, working with Cambrian Archaeology, said, "We believed that this could be a Bronze Age burial site, dating from perhaps 3,000 years ago, but now we have the proof.
"The fire was disastrous as it came at a key time for wildlife but it has had an unexpected bonus, revealing evidence of extensive human use of the area over many centuries. There is some stonework remaining from what we consider to be a burial mound which had been disturbed in the past.
"We have also found what appear to be the remains of prehistoric field boundaries as we know exist on other headlands in north Pembrokeshire, like Strumble and St David's Head."
from
icWales
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Iron Age house replica for Ryedale Folk Museum
A replica of an Iron Age house used by the first settlers in Ryedale is set to be built by young offenders in the grounds of Ryedale Folk Museum at Hutton-le-Hole.
The venture, which is expected to cost £25,000, will see the 10-metre long house become a major new attraction at the popular museum, says curator Mike Benson.
The ambitious scheme, which has involved extensive research, is to be linked with the museum's cornfield site at the northern part of the grounds. There will also be a grain store and pottery kiln said Mr Benson. "It will have considerable education value. We are working with Sure Start and we are hopeful of attracting funding from DEFRA, the North York Moors National Park Authority and the Museum Service."
The Probation Service's young offenders' scheme is expected to be involved in building the house, with young people, who have been given community service orders by the courts, receiving expert help and advice.
A historical architect has been engaged to produce the plans, which have now been submitted to the national park authority for a decision on the scheme.
from This Is Ryedale:
http://www.thisisryedale.co.uk/ryedale/news/RYEDALE_NEWS_LOCAL7.html
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New features found on Ilkley?
Experts are investigating claims by an amateur archaeologist from Bradford that he has found an important ancient monument on Ilkley Moor.
Two weeks ago Gordon Holmes, 52, who has been scouring local landscapes for signs of ancient sacred sites for three decades, was walking on the moor before sunset when he identified "a vague circular outline" surrounding the triangulation point sited on the highest point of the moor.
"It wasn't long before I began to find fallen standing stones strewn about the locality," said Mr Holmes, who is a technician at the University of Bradford. "Besides what appears to be an inner stone circle at this site, there is evidence of an outer circular barrow. I reckon there's enough evidence to suggest it could be a stone circle about eight feet in diameter surrounded by a larger one maybe 18 feet in diameter."
English Heritage says the find could be significant, but other historians have dismissed the claim. The site identified by Mr Holmes was last surveyed by English Heritage in June 1995 and scheduled by the Department of Media, Culture and Sport, after advice from English Heritage.
Neil Redfern, English Heritage's inspector of monuments in Yorkshire, said: "There are in the region of 100 other scheduled monuments on Ilkley Moor, which is renowned for its concentration of prehistoric rock art panels and other associated features such as burial mounds and settlement sites. "We very much welcome input from interested locals and would be keen to discuss this gentleman's findings."
Gavin Edwards, curator of the Manor House Museum, in Ilkley, and an expert on the Moor's archaeology, agreed that it was possible that additional features remained to be discovered but was cautious about Mr Holmes's claim. "There are a lot of stones and features on the moor which can be misinterpreted," he added. Mr Edwards said that Ilkley Moor had been a favourite haunt of Victorian antiquarians who had disturbed many of the original Bronze and Stone Age features. "Sometimes shepherds would use stones to build sheep shelters. And there's a lot of continuing activity which can easily be misinterpreted as being from another age."
http://www.thisisbradford.co.uk/bradford__district/bradford/news/BRAD_NEWS8.html
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This hill, it has a meaning that is very important for me, but it's not rational. It's beautiful, but when you look, there's nothing there. But I'd be a fool if I didn't listen to it.
-- Alan Garner.
...I'd rather be
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn...
-- William Wordsworth.
Some interesting websites with landscape and fairy folklore:
http://earthworks-m.blogspot.co.uk
http://faeryfolklorist.blogspot.co.uk
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