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Plans to put the A303 in a tunnel under the Stonehenge landscape have prompted much debate since they were first discussed in the 1980’s. At that time, many archaeologists thought that this was a great solution to rid this important pre-historic site of the traffic jams that continue to impact on people’s experience of such a special place. But, in those days, it was the stones at Stonehenge that were the focus of research.
Today, archaeologists are just as interested in the 26 square miles that make up the World Heritage Site and the connections between all of the features in it. It's for this reason, that many archaeologists are now concerned about plans put forward for a 2.9km tunnel because they think that the entrances to it will intrude on the landscape and, perhaps, destroy some internationally important sites.
Helen Castor went to Stonehenge to talk to Dr Rachel Pope from the University of Liverpool, who represents the views of archaeologists opposing plans for a tunnel. They were joined by the Chief Executive of Historic England, Duncan Wilson OBE and the National Trust’s Dr Nick Snashall. Both organisations have some concerns about the plans but they are not against it in principal.