What's happening at Stonehenge

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A.� The superb monument is getting an �155 million makeover. A replica will be built and the busy A303 road, which passes perilously near the Bronze Age artefact, will be diverted through a tunnel.< xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

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Q.� That's a lot of money

A.� Yes - but Stonehenge is worth it! (Click here for a feature on this amazing world heritage site). Some of the money is coming from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Carole Souter, English Heritage's acting chief executive, pledged the plans would 'remove the view of the roads, return the monument to its natural landscape setting, and create a new world-class gateway for visitors'. Today's Stonehenge stones are the last from a sequence of monuments built between about 3000 and 1600BC.

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Q.� What does the plan entail

A.� A new visitor centre would be built on a 70-acre site two miles east of the stones. John Vimpany, of English Heritage, said this could include a full-size replica of the monument. The replica could be used for solstice ceremonies, using actors in ancient costumes to reconstruct the monument's history over five millenniums. 'We hope to demonstrate the benefit of the surrounding land reverting to the natural state of the Salisbury Downs,' Vimpany added. The tunnel would mean visitors could explore the 6,700-acre site without traffic hazards.

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Q.� And this plan has universal backing

A.� No. Critics say the tunnel will disturb the remains of other circles, ancient barrows, burial sites and other historic relics. They believe high-tech special effects would detract from historical accuracy at the site. Clare Slaney of Save Our Sacred Sites, part of the Stonehenge Alliance, said: 'Stonehenge has stood mysterious and powerful for thousands of years. We must not let this ancient landscape be forever blighted by short-term traffic improvements.'

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Q.� Stonehenge Alliance

A.� It's a group of environment, transport and archaeology organisations that says the Stonehenge site would be irreversibly damaged by the road. 'Many acres of sensitive archaeological landscape would be disturbed, ancient sites would be destroyed and the wider landscape setting permanently disfigured. Much of the land involved belongs to the National Trust, now under pressure from some members to reconsider its position,' the alliance says in a statement.

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'The road proposals appear to conflict with Britain's explicit duties under the World Heritage Convention. There is an alternative road solution, approved by informed consensus in 1995 (including English Heritage and the National Trust): a 4km-long bored tunnel under the whole site. Although technically feasible, this was without consultation rejected by the Government in 1997 as unaffordable.'

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Q.� So will it go ahead

A.� Something must be done. The present approach - through a park and a concrete underpass - takes away much of Stonehenge's mystery. However, the alterative faces a tough battle.

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Steve Cunningham

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