Skip to main content

Stonehenge tunnel controversy exacerbated by recent incident

The controversy surrounding the driving of a new road tunnel close to the UK’s Stonehenge monument has deepened following a recent incident. A 3m diameter hole was allegedly drilled through an important archeological find, a platform constructed of flint and animal bone, located close to the site Stonehenge. The platform is thought to have been erected some 6,000 years ago, making it older than Stonehenge itself, and preserves hoof prints made by aurochs, giant wild cattle that are now long extinct.
December 7, 2018 Read time: 2 mins

The controversy surrounding the driving of a new road tunnel close to the UK’s Stonehenge monument has deepened following a recent incident. A 3m diameter hole was allegedly drilled through an important archeological find, a platform constructed of flint and animal bone, located close to the site Stonehenge. The platform is thought to have been erected some 6,000 years ago, making it older than Stonehenge itself, and preserves hoof prints made by aurochs, giant wild cattle that are now long extinct.

The construction of the tunnel is a necessary project as the busy A303 route features just a single lane in either direction as it passes Stonehenge and the road is no longer fit for purpose. Traffic congestion are delays are frequent along this particular stretch of the A303 while there are serious concerns over safety. One of the biggest controversies surrounding the project however is that many believe the preferred route for the tunnel to be too short, risking damage to the historical site. There are also concerns that driving the new tunnel will affect the high water table in the area, potentially damaging other features of archeological importance.

Stonehenge is a 1384 Unesco world heritage site due to its historic importance.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • New Turkey tunnels for Istanbul and Izmir
    May 31, 2017
    New tunnel connections are to be built in Istanbul and Izmir, along with a new bridge in Izmir. Work is due to start shortly on the Grand Istanbul Tunnel Project. This will be a three level tunnel and should help lower congestion in Istanbul, which suffers amongst the worst traffic jams of any city in the world.
  • Get under the surface of asphalt specification, says Keith Harvey
    July 26, 2018
    Specifiers must do more than just scratch the surface of asphalt specification, urges Keith Harvey* Improving the UK’s road network is a serious business. Amid an escalating population, 2016 saw a colossal 916,000 new vehicles registered in the country. The was a leap of 5% on the year before, bringing the total number of vehicles on our roads to 36.7 million, according to UK government figures. What is perhaps even more concerning, however, is the surge in commercial vehicle use of the network. As he
  • Tunnel project of Chilean capital Santiago
    April 8, 2015
    Tunnel construction in Chilean capital Santiago will help cut chronic congestion – Mauro Nogarin & Mike Woof write. Chile’s capital Santiago is a thriving city having benefited from the country’s economy growing strongly in recent years. The massive copper mining sector has helped boost the country’s GDP significantly in the past few decades, also aided by the growing international reputation of Chile’s large wine industry. The steady economic growth has resulted in an equally steady growth in average incom
  • UK smart motorway work for M4 link
    September 16, 2019
    Highways England in the UK is carrying out major upgrade work for the busy M4 motorway, running west from capital London. In all 11 bridges are being replaced along a 51km stretch of the M4 between London and Reading. When complete, the current hard shoulder will have been rebuilt and resurfaced to allow traffic to use it as a live lane. The section carrying the heaviest traffic, between the M25 ring road around London and the main exit for Heathrow Airport, will be widened so that it will feature five la