Transport Secretary Approves plan to dig a tunnel under frickin STONEHENGE

[Riedquat]

That's when your going to be wrong in the future, historical pre-iron age landmarks are going to be nulled out of history. Don't believe it? Fine.

Not sure quite what that has to do with my post either.

The dreadful levels of development the UK suffers means most stuff is at risk, although it always has been to a degree - any time you build anything (and that's always been the case). It's not been a wild country since pre-history. And on the other hand anything that has managed to survive this long often has a better chance. For example there's a Roman fort just off Hadrian's Wall, Vindolanda. In the 18th century the roof was still on one of the buildings. It's not now (even though it's still the best preserved part), but if it had survived until now you could guarantee it would be looked after.

The problem is the overall nature of the modern world, the size, scale, and idea that you can and should keep growing and expanding. Not one specific development that, in the overall otherwise ongoing scheme of things really does look like the lesser evil. What you should be getting upset about is that we've come to this, and have kept coming to this for some time, and will continue to do so.

I think it's pretty clear that I'm not at all keen on modern development.

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

Pretty much the case if you build anything in most of the UK, you'll get something similar.

Is every other spot for a road a UNESCO world heritage site? I mean this is not the same scale as the 37 or so quartz boulder's called Arthur's Stone.

It's not going right through it and overall would significantly lessen the impact of the road on Stonehenge itself. Do you have any familiarity with the area at all other than having seen a few pictures?

If you don't want this sort of thing to happen then you need to turn back the clock that's brought more and more travel, more and more development. And yes, I wish that would happen, but sadly it's not going to. This is the necssary result of the precious "progress" so many are so overly fond of.

I've personally visited it, if that's what you mean. I'm no surveyor but it sure looked like there was plenty of room to go around instead of under. British approaches to travel seem to generally favor hugging the curve of the land instead of digging through it or leveling it in general.

You're arguing in very broad terms. I'm saying that, in terms of archeological and historical significance, Stonehenge is one of the most precious sites in the nation, even in the world, and that ranks it a lot higher than the handful of rusty coins and pottery shards you turn up every time some bloke digs an asparagus bed. You insist that this has to happen because of how serious development is in the UK, but it's hardly got an overpopulation problem. Why is the squeeze and human pressure so bad that this has to be dug here, of all places?

[Riedquat]

I've personally visited it, if that's what you mean. I'm no surveyor but it sure looked like there was plenty of room to go around instead of under. British approaches to travel seem to generally favor hugging the curve of the land instead of digging through it or leveling it in general.

It was, but there have been some infamous examples of going straight through in the last 20 or 30 years that attracted a lot of negative attention (look up Twyford Down for a great piece of large scale vandalism).

You're arguing in very broad terms. I'm saying that, in terms of archeological and historical significance, Stonehenge is one of the most precious sites in the nation, even in the world, and that ranks it a lot higher than the handful of rusty coins and pottery shards you turn up every time some bloke digs an asparagus bed. You insist that this has to happen because of how serious development is in the UK, but it's hardly got an overpopulation problem. Why is the squeeze and human pressure so bad that this has to be dug here, of all places?

The UK very much has an overpopulation problem, England in particular. It's one of the most densely populated countries in the world if you discount places like Monaco and Singapore.

The tunnel is not going to hit Stonehenge itself and the detour to avoid anything archeological in the region would be massive.

I'm speaking in broad terms because these individual examples are the results of a larger disease, and all too often handwaved away with "well it's just one...", completely ignoring the cumulative impact. Immense damage has been done to the UK in the last century or so. Probably to most other countries too, but not being as badly over-populated it's not quite as heart-rending (it's noticeable how less crowded most of France feels - approximately the same population as the UK but twice the area).

I care deeply about the UK and find what's happening to it in the name of "progress" utterly abhorrent, but I'm not going to totally dismiss the practical issues either.

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

It belongs in a museum.

[Riedquat]

It belongs in a museum.

Yes Indy.