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Never mind the archaeology - what about the setting?
February 16, 2006, 12:41 pm
Recent news that North Yorkshire County Council are recommending that Tarmac's latest application to quarry in the ritual landscape of the Thornborough Henges should be rejected is most welcome, but this may be a precursor to a much more problematic issue.
The PPG16 legislation calls for the preservation of important archaeology and its setting but fails to adequately define either of these. Fortunately, at the Thornborough site at Ladybridge, which is likely to reveal archaeology of the largest Neolithic settlements in Britain the issue of national importance has, in the end, been a reasonably simple concept to prove - but what about the setting?
Tarmac has shown a determination to quarry this site regardless of the impact on the archaeology of the henges. Just because their latest attempt has failed, it is unlikely that the company will give up trying and the most likely next step will be to withdraw the application and resubmit avoiding the nationally important archaeology.
We will then have to ask the question what constitutes 'the setting'. Heritage Action believes that the henges lie within a ritual landscape - specifically chosen because of its wider landscape features which we feel must be included in the concept of the 'setting' of the henges.
It is most likely that Tarmac will regard the setting of the archaeology as only the land that actually contains the archaeology. From discussions with council officers it is apparent that the definition of setting is not clearly understood and it is notable that English Heritage voiced uncertainty regarding the question of setting of the Thornborough Henges some years ago.
So, while we may yet save the archaeology, we think the wider setting is far from safe. We will be watching with interest.
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