Plans for a dual carriageway tunnel near Stonehenge has been given the go-ahead
But experts have warned it would compromise the 'precious' archaeology of the World Heritage Site
PLANS for a 1.8-mile dual carriageway tunnel near Stonehenge has got the go-ahead from Transport Secretary Chris Grayling.
Some experts warned it would compromise the “precious” archaeology of the World Heritage Site.
But government agency Historic England, and the National Trust and English Heritage who manage the stone circle, welcomed the ruling. The A303 is often gridlocked there.
Time Team presenter Tony Robinson has previously described the scheme as "old-fashioned" because it "assumes what needs to be protected is that little clump of stones".
He said the stone circle was invaluable, but over the past 20 to 30 years, experts had begun to appreciate that the area around it was a complex network of henges, pathways, barrows and track-ways.
Professor David Jacques from the University of Buckingham warned that a report Highways England had commissioned on the geology underneath Stonehenge showed chalk dug up for the tunnel could damage the landscape and radon gas had been detected.
He also said the eastern end of the tunnel would threaten the archaeology of the oldest settlement in the landscape.
"The Stonehenge landscape is unutterably precious and you tamper with it at your peril."
AA president Edmund King said the lack of progress in easing traffic jams at Stonehenge had turned it into "a monument to modern age indecision".
He added: "At last, the circle of motoring gloom has become a circle of hope for drivers."
