In 1986 Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites was one of the small group of seven sites which were the first in the UK to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. I am therefore delighted to see the publication of the first joint Stonehenge and Avebury Research Framework on the 30th Anniversary of its inscription as a World Heritage Site.
Stonehenge and Avebury were inscribed as one World Heritage Site for their Outstanding Universal Value. The Site is recognised by UNESCO as a masterpiece of human creative genius that demonstrates the technological and engineering skills of a long-lost Neolithic and Bronze Age culture. The World Heritage Site extends far beyond the iconic henges at Avebury and Stonehenge to encompass their surrounding landscapes, each containing an unusually dense concentration of exceptionally well-preserved prehistoric monuments. Both landscapes have a research potential that is internationally recognised. Over the last 30 years, great advances have been made in our understanding of the World Heritage Site as well as its protection and enhancement.
The UNESCO Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention advise States Parties to make resources available to encourage and undertake research. They recognise that knowledge and understanding are fundamental to the identification, management, and monitoring of World Heritage properties. The publication of this first joint Research Framework is an important step in fulfilling this ambition.
Historic England has been eager to produce a single Research Framework covering the whole World Heritage Site in line with UNESCO’s recommendation to take a unified approach to managing serial Sites. In doing so, the World Heritage Site partners have built on the success of the earlier Avebury Research Agenda and Stonehenge Research Framework.
This new joint Framework is the result of committed and effective partnership working. The document is a true collaboration; the work of individual researchers, university academics, national and local authority staff, museum curators and private sector heritage professionals. The wider community has also had the opportunity to influence the questions being investigated through public consultation undertaken as part of the document’s development.
This Research Framework will be available to universities and research organisations as well as the wider community. There is much here that will help to inspire and direct future research into these remarkable and unparalleled landscapes over the next 30 years and beyond.
Duncan Wilson
Chief Executive, Historic England