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2nd May 2003 WILTSHIRE’S unique historical treasures are revealed on new interactive web pages for the county’s archaeology and museums services.
The web pages allow visitors to search interactive maps of the county for heritage walks, sites and places of interest. Searches can be made by time period (for example, Iron Age, Roman and Medieval), by type of site (e.g. castle, hill fort), or by town or district.
The maps open up Wiltshire’s ancient landscape to the public and highlight well know sites such as Stonehenge and some of the county’s lesser know archaeological gems.
By clicking on the place they are interested in, visitors can access a full description of the site, information about the terrain, disabled access, parking and other facilities, the best time of year to visit, and more detailed maps of the area.
Stunning aerial photographic views of historical sites give a different perspective on the county’s heritage. The maps also suggest a series of heritage trails or walks associated with some of the sites featured.
These include Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Sites trails, a Cricklade Saxon town trail, a Pewsey Downs trail, and Salisbury Plain trails.
The maps can be accessed through the new web pages for Wiltshire County Council’s archaeology service, which can be found at http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/heritage/html/archaeology.html, and for the museum service at http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/heritage/html/museums.html
The new museums web pages feature a complete record of the county council’s touring photographic exhibitions from the last five years.
These include Crowning Occasions, an exhibition of royal visits and events in Wiltshire covering three centuries – the exhibition is currently touring Wiltshire libraries.
The other on–line exhibitions are Old Sport, a sporting exhibition, The Famous Wiltshire Breakfast, about food and agriculture, and The Thrilling Thirties. All the images from these four exhibitions are available on–line.
The new web pages are part of Window on Wiltshire’s Heritage. WOW Heritage is an innovative £425,000 project – funded by the New Opportunities Fund – to set up a major web–based resource revealing Wiltshire’s history and culture.
WOW Heritage project officer at Wiltshire County Council, Kate Turnbull, said: “The new archaeology and museums web pages include some really interesting and useful features, such as the sites and trails map and the on–line exhibitions.
“The maps are interactive and are ideal for anyone who is interested in exploring Wiltshire’s heritage. The on–line exhibitions feature hundreds of images from the county council’s photographic exhibitions over the last few years.”
The WOW Heritage web site will improve public access to a wide range of information about the county – covering heritage, culture and the natural environment.
Members of staff at Wiltshire County Council are leading the project. The home page is now on–line and the project will take a further two years to complete.
The Window on Wiltshire’s Heritage homepage can be found at www.wowheritage.org.uk
The project involves total of 19 partner organisations. The WOW Heritage web site will act as a portal, connecting to the partner sites.
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For further information, contact the communications unit at Wiltshire County Council on 01225 713116, or Kate Turnbull, Window on Wiltshire’s Heritage project officer, on 01225 713718.
Notes for editors – The Window on Wiltshire’s Heritage project has been funded by the New Opportunities Fund through a £50 million ‘digitisation’ programme. The UK–wide programme aims to make the resources of the country’s libraries, galleries, universities and other centres of learning available to people via the Internet. The NOF is the biggest of the National Lottery’s distributors of funding. |
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