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Give Stonehenge A New Druid
Shrine To The Dead
Western Daily Press -
March, 2004
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ARTICLE
Druid leaders yesterday called for
the creation of a sacred site at Stonehenge for the re-burial of human
remains unearthed during a unique road project in the area. They want a
parcel of land near the "powerful temple of our heritage" to be set aside as
a ceremonial shrine for the Pagan and Druid communities.
They also hope to carry out important rituals at key stages of the proposed
Stonehenge Tunnel construction, such as the first ground breaking "to ease
ancestral spirits".
And they want to be informed of any archaeological discoveries during the
£193million A303 road scheme in the World Heritage Site.
The Druid Network told a public inquiry they were in favour of the
4,500-year-old stone circle being returned to its natural setting without
nearby roads and visitor centre.
But they are concerned about various aspects of the proposed project, which
is the subject of a 10-week public inquiry in Salisbury.
Giving evidence for the network, Emma Restall Orr said the scheme "lacks any
acknowledgement of this ancient site's significance as a working temple for
existing spiritual and religious communities".
She said: "A major concern is the potential lack of respect given to our
ancestors and their physical remains." Such problems could be diverted if
"the sanctity of the temple" was acknowledged and respected throughout the
work.
Ms Restall Orr said the Druids wanted to carry out their rituals at
important stages of the three-year construction programme.
These include the first sod-cutting and when the work nears sensitive sites
such as Longbarrow Crossroads, the Avenue and the Heel Stone. Rituals were
also required at times of significant archaeological finds during tunnelling
at the heritage site, especially the uncovering of human remains.
She said: "Of particular concern are human remains. "We seek assurances that
any Pagan human remains found during the work are treated with appropriate
respect. "While we do not wish to stop the archaeologists from gaining
knowledge, removing human remains to store in museums is no longer
acceptable within international Pagan communities. "All human remains must
be reburied with the appropriate Pagan ritual as close to the site of
discovery as possible, together with their grave goods - or appropriate
facsimiles.
"We would support the setting aside of a piece of land within the World
Heritage Site that could act as a ceremonial funerary shrine for the Pagan
and Druid communities.
"This could be used not only for the reburial of the ancient dead, but also
as a place of honouring the dead within many modern spiritual communities."
The centrepiece of the proposed A303 Stonehenge Traffic Scheme, which runs
for 12.4km between Amesbury and Berwick Down, is a two-bore 2.1km tunnel
next to the stones.
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