Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site Newsletter
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Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site Newsletter SUMMER 2018 SUMMER 2018 Thank you to the following Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site Newsletter people who have contributed to this edition of Megalith: Clare Blick Chris Jones Patrick Cashman Helen Miah Ros Cleal Steph Payne Briony Clifton Sarah Simmonds Brian Edwards Gill Swanton Elizabeth Falconer Jessica Trethowan Jo Hutchings Contact us at Stonehenge and Avebury WHS Coordination Unit Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre Cocklebury Road Chippenham WILTSHIRE SN15 3QN [email protected] t. 01225 718 470 Sarah Simmonds Stonehenge and Avebury WHS Partnership Manager [email protected] Editor: Helen Miah Helen Miah Designed by Michael Goddard Stonehenge and Avebury WHS [email protected] Partnership Officer [email protected] Published by Stonehenge and Avebury WHS Coordination Unit 2018 Supported by Historic England www.stonehengeandaveburywhs.org and Wiltshire Council @StoneAveWHS SUMMER 2018 Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site Newsletter Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site Newsletter SUMMER 2018 Finally, a warm welcome to our latest new Welcome to the seventh edition connection, Helen Miah, who joined the World Heritage Site team at the end of of Megalith, the annual newsletter for 2017. You can read about Helen’s growing passion for the World Heritage Site and the Stonehenge and Avebury how she is bringing her skills, experience World Heritage Site. and even her hobbies to bear in encouraging people out into the landscape to connect with the World Heritage Site The very close connection through geocaching as well as their own between heritage and nature in creativity. the World Heritage landscape is brought to life in some We’d like to thank contributors to this fascinating articles exploring edition including English Heritage, the projects aimed at boosting National Trust, Historic England, Highways biodiversity in the Site and England, Wiltshire Council, Wiltshire beyond. Museum, Natural England, the RSPB, Bournemouth University, local landowners Photo ©Helen Miah ©Helen Photo and farmers and the local community. Looking across to Silbury from Waden Hill To learn more about the World Heritage In this edition we have a wonderful The Impact with Light project saw Finnish Find out about how Natural Site and its management visit: collection of articles reflecting the wide artist Kari Kola create an amazing light England, the RSPB and others are range of values associated with the World installation, for one night only, at working closely with farmers and www.stonehengeandaveburywhs.org, Heritage Site. There really is something Stonehenge to mark both this centenary volunteers to deliver blooming to interest and engage everyone, from and World Heritage Day in April this year. barrows, butterflies and follow us on Twitter our magnificent prehistoric landscapes You can see some of the stunning important landscape scale @StoneAveWHS right up to the cutting edge technology photographs of the results on the cover wildlife corridors. or like us on our Facebook page: of a virtual reality Avebury which you can and inside. Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage find out about on page 24. Connections and partnerships are Site Another centenary, the year some women at the heart of our approach to . In 1918 Cecil Chubb gifted Stonehenge finally got the vote, is celebrated with an managing the World Heritage Site. We hope that you enjoy this edition of to the nation and to mark the centenary exhibition focussing on women in We hope you will agree that this Megalith. Please contact us if you'd like this year two very different events took archaeology at Avebury. You can read edition of Megalith really brings extra copies or you’d like to get involved in place. Find out about how archaeologists about this and a connection between Jane out the range of partners involved some of the exciting activities you’ve read turned out in boaters, bonnets and Austen and Avebury Manor in this edition. and their dedication and passion about in Megalith. suffragette costumes to play cricket against I explore connections further afield in an for working together to look after Shrewton Cricket Club at an event where article on my visit to South Korea this year. all aspects of the World Heritage Sarah Simmonds Cecil, himself a local Shrewton man and I consider what challenges Stonehenge and landscape and make it a vibrant Stonehenge and Avebury keen cricketer, would have felt quite Avebury face in common with Silk Route and exciting place to visit. WHS Partnership Manager at home. sites and why international links are so important. 2 3 SUMMER 2018 Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site Newsletter Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site Newsletter SUMMER 2018 Blooming barrows - our historic and natural heritage intertwined On farmland in the south of the Stonehenge World Heritage Site, just over the busy A303, years of sympathetic management to protect historic Photo © Rachel Hosier monuments, reconnect them in the landscape and restore our natural heritage are starting to show tangible and delightful results. Most striking is arguably the Normanton Down barrow cemetery, which forms a line of barrows and burial features on a ridge immediately southwest of the Stonehenge circle. Surveying grassland quadrat at Normanton Down These historic monuments are on private farmland, and at the start of the 21st century were maintained as small islands of grassland and scrub surrounded by cereal fields. However, the farmers, supported by Natural England’s wildlife friendly farming grants, have since taken many of the surrounding fields out of arable production and turned them to grassland. Volunteer work parties have also been active in removing scrub from the barrows. 4 5 SUMMER 2018 Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site Newsletter Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site Newsletter SUMMER 2018 Today it is not just the barrows that This process needs Blooming barrows support chalk wildflowers such as wild careful management thyme, milkwort, small scabious, dropwort and the farmer, grazier, and fairy flax but also the surrounding RSPB and Natural landscape setting. Drifts of lady’s bedstraw, England meet annually This open landscape retains a rare air red clover, ox-eye daisy and bird’s-foot to review the season of tranquillity and is home to increasingly trefoil carpet the ground, with the palette and plan next year’s important populations of once more of colours topped up with random complementary sheep widespread farmland birds such as the wildflowers such as the deep purple of and cattle grazing. stone-curlew, lapwing, corn bunting and clustered bellflower and rose pink The grazing keeps the Common Blue butterfly Kidney Vetch skylark. A core area barrows free of scrub, has been set up with provides an open one of the farmers sward for wildflowers as the Normanton and of course dung for Down nature reserve insects, which in turn by the Royal Society provide food for for the Protection nesting birds. of Birds (RSPB). Monitoring has Dropwort coming into bloom revealed that the Sowing wildflower seed at Normanton Down Marbled White butterfly Wild Thyme relict chalk flora is now spilling off the barrows into the of common centaury. The growing The success of this partnership at work is best seen surrounding grasslands and reconnecting numbers and diversity of insect life are also in early spring, when the big open skies of this ancient the ancient monuments with a landscape testimony to the change from arable fields landscape are alive with the tumbling of displaying of yesteryear. This has been augmented by to a haven for downland wildlife. Most lapwing, chortling skylarks, and the evocative wailing bringing in flower-rich hay from nearby conspicuous being the butterflies such as of stone-curlews at dusk. The clean lines of the downland farms and strewing it on the common blue, meadow brown, dark-green monuments are easiest to pick out on the open down Down. Additionally by sowing and drilling fritillary and marbled white which provide where frolicing lambs bleat and yellow nodding wildflower seed collected from nearby an extra mobile dimension of colour in cowslips stretch to the horizon. mid-summer. Salisbury Plain. Hosier Rachel and Cashman Patrick © Photos Patrick Cashman Clustered Bellflower Site Manager, RSPB Wiltshire Reserves 6 7 SUMMER 2018 Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site Newsletter Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site Newsletter SUMMER 2018 A303 consultation Helen joins the WHS team Earlier this year Highways England held Highways England has used the Helen Miah joined the World a public consultation on its proposals for consultation feedback to develop its plans Heritage Site Coordination Unit the A303 past Stonehenge, between and make changes to the proposals at the end of November 2017 Amesbury and Berwick Down. Highways submitted for public consultation in the replacing Liam Wiseman as the England’s aims for the scheme are to spring of 2018. The proposed changes Partnership Officer. Helen has transform journey reliability, enhance safety were designed to minimise impacts on a background in public sector and improve connectivity to the South the World Heritage Site and its Arts and Culture and Performing West whilst at the same time bringing Outstanding Universal Value. The public Arts Education. benefits to the Stonehenge World were invited to comment on the proposed Heritage Site which is currently bisected