The "Durrington Shafts" and the anti-tunnel campaign

I didn't realise it at first, but the hype about the "mega-circuit" of supposed vertical shafts in the chalk around Durrington Walls has not appeared just now purely by chance.  If you look at the media today almost every article is linking the "astonishing discovery" with the proposed road tunnel to the south of Stonehenge -- so there has clearly been careful coordination, with many statements from key players prepared in advance.  

I don't have strong feelings one way or the other about the tunnel, but it probably explains why such a half-baked and seriously unscientific piece of research has been released now, when it could have done with some serious peer review and careful revision.

As it is, it is out there, and it cannot possibly do anything to enhance the reputations of any of the authors.  Treat it not as a piece of respectable academic research, but as a campaigning weapon.

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in The Guardian:

Scrap Stonehenge road tunnel plans, say archaeologists after Neolithic discovery

Exclusive: Discovery of prehistoric structure is another reason to give up ‘disastrous white elephant’ scheme

Extract: "A giant neolithic structure, created 4,500 years ago, has been uncovered 1.9 miles (3 km) north-east of Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain near Amesbury, Wiltshire. To the astonishment of archaeologists, a series of vast shafts – each more than five metres deep and up to 20 metres across – were found to have been aligned to form a circle 1.2 miles in diameter."

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/jun/22/scrap-stonehenge-road-tunnel-say-archaeologists-neolithic-discovery?fbclid=IwAR1By42ezTxOlk76WynZOlHb0_6Kw0BKLJpf1xkls4adr5JMZbRDUBjzJhs


Mike Parker Pearson: "........there’s concern that the vibrations will actually impact on archaeological deposits, causing the ground to crack.” Seriously?

and again:  “What’s really pleasing for me is that it’s over 20 years now since we put that hypothesis together. Vince has found it. Fantastic. We’ve really got a good idea of what Stonehenge is all about. What a find.”  Seriously? 

Signatories of the letter (27 Feb 2017) in support of the Stonehenge Alliance and in opposition to the road tunnel proposals:

Prof. Mike Parker Pearson FBA FSA FSA(Scot) MCIfA PhD University College London

Dr Umberto Albarella PhD University of Sheffield

Dr Mike Allen FSA PhD Allen Environmental Associates

Dr Barry Bishop PhD University of Buckingham 

Prof Nick Branch FSA PhD University of Reading

Dr Christopher Chippindale FSA MCIfA PhD University of Cambridge

Prof Oliver Craig MSc PhD University of York

Dr David Field FSA PhD Formerly English Heritage 

Prof Charly French FSA PhD University of Cambridge

Prof Vince Gaffney FSA PhD University of Bradford

Paul Garwood MSc University of Birmingham

Prof David Jacques FSA MPhil University of Buckingham 

Dr Nicholas James PhD University of Cambridge

Dr Joshua Pollard FSA PhD University of Southampton

Prof Colin Richards PhD University of the Highlands & Islands 

Dr David Robinson PhD University of Central Lancashire

Prof Peter Rowley-Conwy FSA FSA(Scot) RSNA PhD University of Durham

Prof Clive Ruggles FSA DPhil University of Leicester

Prof Julian Thomas MA PhD FSA University of Manchester

Prof Christopher Tilley PhD University College London

Prof Kate Welham MSc PhD University of Bournemouth