Human Bones Could Be Displayed At Stonehenge Visitor Centre

When the new £27 million Stonehenge Visitor Centre is finished later this year, there is a good chance that relevant human remains may be on display. The proposal to display the remains has been backed by governors from English Heritage.

New visitor centre by the end of the year

Two of the three sets of human remains were found during excavations more than 50 years ago, while the third was uncovered during road improvement works in 2001. All three sets of remains are more than 4,500 years old.

However, there is a slight fly in the ointment, in as much as a legal challenge is pending from the druid, King Arthur Pendragon. He said: "English Heritage has two choices - they can either be world leaders and show the way to the rest of the world, or they can stick with the Victorian idea of ogling at the dead, in which case they would have the biggest protest in Europe because I would be leading it."

He has a counter proposal which would involve using fake bones instead of real ones.

However English Heritage is steadfast in its support for the plan, saying it was a decision that was consistent with current UK museum practice. It felt that all aspects had been carefully considered and there was strong consensus that it must communicate "all the key narratives and archaeological findings" to the public.

"If English Heritage was not displaying them, they would remain in the collections of the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum and the Duckworth Collection, University of Cambridge," said a spokesman for the organisation.

"Their presentation, treatment and storage will follow strict guidelines set out by the UK government's Department for Culture, Media and Sport.  Visitors will be made aware of the display before they enter the exhibition."

Once complete, the new visitor centre will provide information and history about the giant stones.

                       http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/stonehenge/