English Heritage is now offering unprecedented access to the Stonehenge World Heritage Site in the form of a new micro-website, launched on June 11.
For the first time, visitors can explore the entire archaeological landscape that surrounds the world famous stone circle from the comfort of their desktops.
"We want to help people appreciate the wealth of prehistoric sites surrounding Stonehenge," explained Isabelle Bedu, Stonehenge World Heritage Site Coordinator, in charge of this project at English Heritage.
"The aim of the interactive map is to bring to life the whole World Heritage Site and its many mysterious monuments. We hope that many people around the world will enjoy their virtual tour."
Made a World Heritage Site in 1986 Stonehenge and Avebury, between them, cover an area of around 26 square kilometres.
Stonehenge began as an earthen ditch and bank built around 3,000BC. The stones were erected and rearranged several times between 2,500BC and 1,600BC and are now recognised as the most sophisticated stone circle in Europe.
The landscape surrounding it offers an unusual concentration of Neolithic and Bronze Age burial mounds (more than 350 altogether) and large-scale ceremonial monuments such as the Avenue, the Cursus and Durrington Walls.
The whole thing can now be explored online in English Heritage’s new microsite, which has been created by web content management system company Oxford ArchDigital.
An interactive map of the area centres on the world famous Stonehenge monument and points out places of archaeological interest that surround it.
Hosted on the main English Heritage site, and located within the organisation’s pages all about Stonehenge - www.english-heritage.org.uk/stonehenge - it offers visitors a virtual tour of the World Heritage Site and encourages them to discover more about the surrounding monuments.
Visitors can click on archaeological sites and see a short description, photos, reconstruction drawings, a 360° panorama as well as video clips with aerial views.
There’s also a handy timeline to help make sense of the historical sequence in which the various monuments were built, some of them taking thousands of years to complete.
The microsite was created as part of a major heritage project called Window on Wiltshire’s Heritage - www.wowheritage.org.uk - which is funded by the Big Lottery Fund, formerly the New Opportunities Fund.
It makes the resources of the county’s galleries, libraries, museums and other centres of learning available to people via the Internet.
"Stonehenge is a key part of Wiltshire’s heritage," said Kate Turnbull, from Window on Wiltshire’s Heritage.
"The WOW project team has been delighted to work together with English Heritage on this website which will make the Stonehenge landscape available to people online at the touch of a button."
Stonehenge, SP4 7DE, Wiltshire, England
T: 01980 624715
Open: Opening Times:16th - 23rd October: 0930 - 1700; 24th October - 15 March: 0930 - 1600; 16th March - 31st May: 0930 - 1800; 1st June - 31st August: 0900 - 1900, 1st September - 15th October: 0930 - 1800.
Recommended last admissions no later than 30 mins before closing time. Stonehenge will be closed promptly 20 mins after advertised time.
