Stonehenge correspondence with English Heritage

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION QUERIES SENT TO ENGLISH HERITAGE, SHEFFIELD UNIVERSITY AND MINISTRY OF JUSTICE -

THIS IS THE CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN ENGLISH HERITAGE AND SGWI

Sent: 18 January 2011 10:26
To: CARSON, Peter; Clayton, Rupert; M G Parker Pearson

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST
 
Good morning all,
 
You no doubt have the latest from Arthur Pendragon, threatening a judicial review - if not I will copy and paste it at the end of this email.[This is elsewhere on this website]
 
Suffice to say his views are his own and Im most concerned to see that he says that via his FOI demands he has found out from either or all of you that some druids and pagans 'are on the side' of the Uni and therefore implicated in his other accusation - that they knew Mike and his team never intended to return the bones at all!
 
Its pretty obvious from the objections presented to Rupert against retention any longer than necessary, that at least Stonehenge Druids, Honouring the Ancient Dead and Sacred Grove Western Isles network do not concur with the prospect of the Uni keeping the bones indefinitely. I cannot speak for other pagan or other groups etc of course.
 
We hold no interest in Pendragon's argument for any JR and would appreciate your confirmation on behalf of Sheffield University and the Department of Justice and English Heritage that NONE of you -
 
1. plan to allow the bones of the ancestors lifted from Stonehenge to be kept by Sheffield University for ever,
 
2. confirm that it was never your intention to do that, and
 
3. that the paragraph in Rupert's letter of 2 November 2010 still stands, namely:
“The decision has therefore been made to grant an extension to the re-burial condition for five years, in accordance with the application made on behalf of the Stonehenge Riverside Project. Instructions for the licence to be amended have therefore been given. However, it is proposed that once the work has been completed the religious views of the Pagans and Druids will be respected and the remains reintered” [my underlining]
 
4. Since Pendragon's contention is causing dismay and outrage amongst pagans interested in this issue, please furnish me with the same documentation to which he relates, especially where it says some druids and pagans are on the side of the archaeologists, in order that we can defend ourselves via its disclosure. This is also requested under the Freedom of Information Act if that is indeed required.
 
I trust you can answer these queries as soon as possible in order to allay the fears of our community.

Yours
Admin
SGWI

ENGLISH HERITAGE REPLY

From: CARSON, Peter

Sent: Friday, February 04, 2011 1:48 PM

 
Thank you for your email of 18 January.
 
I understand that Jessica Trevitt our Freedom of Information Officer is responding to you in respect of your fourth point.
 
So far as the other issues raised are concerned, I am able to confirm that it has never been the intention of English Heritage that the cremated bones removed from Stonehenge in 2008 should remain at Sheffield University forever.
 
It has always been the intention that the bones should either be deposited with other archive material at Salisbury Museum (as provided for in the Scheduled Monument Consent granted to enable the excavation to take place) or eventually be re-buried as conditioned in the Section 25 licence from the Ministry of Justice.
 
We will of course continue to consult with the Pagan and Druid communities with regard to these issues.
 
Regards
 
Peter Carson
Head of Stonehenge
English Heritage
Wyndham House
65 The Close
SALISBURY
SP1 2EN
Tel: 01722 34 38 32 (office)
Fax: 01722 34 38 31
Mobile: 07766 903 850

ENGLISH HERITAGE RESPONSE TO FOI DATED 18 JAN 2011 - received 08 Feb

 "Information request - Stonehenge reburial (ref: FOI 11/1018)

Thank you for your email of 18 January in which you raise four points. I understand that Peter Carson has answered the first three and I will therefore only address the fourth, which is an information request.
 
You have asked for copies of the documents that King Arthur says in his email (under yours) that he has obtained by placing a Freedom of Information request. Having searched our previous requests I can confirm that we have no record of having received a request from King Arthur. He may have obtained the information that he refers to from another organisation which has an interest in the cremated bones that were removed from Stonehenge in 2008 and is subject to FOI. One possibility is Sheffield University.

I am sorry that I unable to help you further. If you are unhappy with the response that you have received you may request an internal review. Details of our review procedure are attached.

Yours sincerely,
 
Jessica Trevitt
Access to Information Manager
English Heritage
Kemble Drive
Swindon SN2 2GZ
Tel: 01793 414539
www.english-heritage.org.uk