An excellent video by Matt Sibson of Ancient Architects that comprehensively demolishes any thoughts that the A303 Stonehenge road scheme is about conservation. At the heart of Sibson’s objection is the commodification of Stonehenge, tidying up the landscape and making it look “pretty” for tourists whilst risking the destruction of our “ancient wonders”, known and unknown, contained within the World Heritage Site. Below we quote liberally from Sibson’s compelling argument by kind permission.

“This video is not about the standing stones of Stonehenge, it’s about the bigger picture. The whole landscape is truly awe inspiring with dozens of known structures and countless others unexcavated.”

”The underlying geology will be tampered with and the water table will certainly be affected [by the 1.8 mile tunnel, 8 metre high flyover and 1.6 miles of Expressway].” “This colossal work will be devastating.”

“We potentially as a nation are allowing damage to a site of extreme historical importance. [This project] is about removing the road from the landscape for as little money as possible to open up the site for tourism […] It’s about making the site look more pretty. It’s a nice idea but not if archaeologists say this will harm the landscape and put many important sites at risk.”

“It’s all about money and tourism […] The whole project is really a national scandal.”

Sibson wants to raise awareness of the devastation whilst we have the chance. “We the people can change these scandalous plans. Please share this video to educate more people, and follow Stonehenge Alliance to say no.”

@MattSibson