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"Our initial investigations show that this issue is quite a complex
one" Said George Chaplin, Chairman of TimeWatch. "we decided our
next step should be full site visit and discussion with staff at the
centre, I'll be meeting Toby Fox, manager of Flag Fen".
The campaign group recently handed
North Yorkshire County Council 10,000 signatures on a petition and
1,500 letters of objection to proposals to quarry in the ritual
landscape of Thornborough Henges close to Ripon. This is the largest
negative response the council has ever received to a planning
application.
"Thornborough, despite being
Britain's largest Neolithic site is barely known to the British
public." said Mr Chaplin "On the other hand, Flag Fen is far better
known, having featured on numerous archaeology programmes including
Time Team, there is considerable concern
amongst archaeologists that we are simply brushing these sites to
one side in the name of progress yet they are amongst the most
important we have".
However, the group are keen to
emphasise that they do not enter into campaigns without fully
understanding the situation. "The world of archaeology is a complex
one, things are never black and white so its best to have all the
facts before forming an opinion. Let's just say we are concerned,
and are investigating further".
July 2005
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