Road workers ‘drilled hole through Stonehenge site’

Archaeologists fear that Mesolithic finds at risk due to construction of flyover at Salisbury Plain monument

IT IS a window into the Mesolithic Period – a world inhabited by huntergatherers who recolonised Britain after the end of the Ice Age 12,000 years ago.

Now archaeologists are claiming that the unique site on the edge of Salisbury Plain may have been irreparably damaged by Highways England engineers who have drilled a hole through it as part of the project to build a road tunnel under Stonehenge.

The alleged damage was done when gauges were being installed to monitor the water table at Blick Mead, a series of tepid springs in the grounds of Amesbury Abbey, in Wiltshire, known as the “first place in Britain”.

Among the most intriguing finds by archaeologists over the past decade is a carefully constructed stone platform on what had once been the banks of a river, which, it is believed, could have been a pathway or a jetty.

Careful excavation revealed hoof prints of extinct prehistoric cattle, known as aurochs, which were perfectly preserved in the solidified mud beneath an 8in layer of compacted stone.

David Jacques, professor of archaeology at the University of Buckingham, discovered the site 12 years ago and now fears that construction of a flyover leading to the road tunnel entrance beside Blick Mead will lower the water table, threatening any archaeology preserved in the waterlogged ground.

He said: “There are thousands of years of history lying undisturbed in the waterlogged ground. It is a miracle it has survived and it would be a disaster if it was lost.”

Highways England hydrologists were supposed to have liaised with Prof Jacques and the site owner – but he says they turned up unannounced on Nov 27. Andy Rhind-tutt, 52, the excavation archivist, rushed to the site to find a hole that he claims was drilled directly above the aurochs’ hoof prints.

He said: “Luckily I managed to stop them because they were planning to drill five holes. One is bad enough. It will be a miracle if they haven’t damaged the hoof prints. But even if they missed them we will never know what they did drill through.”

A Highways England spokesman said: “We are not aware of any damage being caused to archaeological layers. We notified Prof Jacques of the locations of our water table monitoring, we have adhered to guidelines in carrying out the work, we have kept Prof Jacques informed and we will be meeting him on site tomorrow.

“Our assessments so far indicate that construction of the scheme will have no significant effects on the Blick Mead area, and we are undertaking this further hydrogeological investigation at Prof Jacques’ request.

“The works have been undertaken in a highly professional manner, with an archaeologist on site and with due care being exercised at all times.”