| More info | • The WOW website, www.wowheritage.org.uk, allows users to find out about Wiltshire's heritage by going to the 'Discover' pages and searching by theme or keyword. • The WOW site is run by Wiltshire County Council and has been funded through a £425,000 grant from the Big Lottery Fund. • The grant was made through the BLF's digitisation programme, which aims to make the resources of the UK's galleries, libraries, museums, and other centres of learning available to people via the Internet. |
Let’s face it; anyone who lives here in Wiltshire knows just how rich the county is when it comes to archaeology. After all, with Stonehenge and Avebury dominating the scene, it’s hardly surprising – both prehistoric monuments attract thousands of visitors every year, a handful of whom even make the trip from Swindon, Trowbridge or Salisbury to remind themselves what the fuss is all about. But the thing is, Wiltshire has so much more to interest anyone with a passing fascination for old things and, unlike the great sarsen monuments, not all of it goes back to the year dot.
 | | Julian Richards and fellow guests |
Following the official launch this month of the Window on Wiltshire’s Heritage website, people hooked up to the Net can view the county’s fantastic array of historical treasures. The WOW website covers eight themes and visitors can find out about Wiltshire's nature, the county's archaeology, its museums, architecture, county records and archives, photo exhibitions, art and local history. TV archaeologist Julian Richards, presenter of BBC2's 'Meet the Ancestors' and 'Blood of the Vikings', was on hand to give his seal of approval to the new venture.
 | | Julian Richards at the WOW launch |
Speaking at the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum, he told BBC Wiltshire: “I think like most people who use the web it can be quite a frustrating place because there’s so much junk out there and it’s often a question of sifting out what you really want. “Once you get into this site it guides you to other areas – which is one its great values – and it celebrates the tremendous diversity of Wiltshire’s heritage – not just the archaeology but the buildings, the social history, the natural history and brings it all together and makes it accessible.” Julian also believes that such a website has the advantage of bringing the subject of Wiltshire’s heritage to a new, perhaps younger audience.
 | | Kennet and Avon Canal Trust webpage |
He recalled how in his early days in Wiltshire he would often find himself in a damp-smelling hall somewhere in the wilds talking enthusiastically to a group about the county’s archaeology. “That was the only way to really communicate at that time but look at the proliferation of radio and television programmes and the only difference is that now, rather than thirty people in a village hall, you’re talking to three million people sitting in front of their television screens.” He adds, “in the same way the web is getting the information out there – it is part of this communication revolution.”
At the launch of the WOW website, the landscape at Avebury and its world-famous standing stones were named as the people's choice as their favourite aspect of the county's heritage.
North Meadow, Cricklade, in second, and Westbury White Horse, in third, narrowly missed out on top spot.
People were asked to vote to decide which of 12 short-listed candidates would be crowned as the winner of the Window on Wiltshire's Heritage poll.
The poll was launched in 2002 when work started on the Window on Wiltshire's Heritage website.
The nominations were whittled down to 12 finalists, with the last phase of voting taking place in the weeks leading up to the website's official launch.
The 12 candidates were Avebury, Brunel's Box Tunnel, Figsbury Ring, the Kennet and Avon Canal, Malmesbury Abbey, North Meadow at Cricklade, Old Wardour Castle, Salisbury Cathedral, Stonehenge, Stourhead, Swindon railway village and works, and Westbury White Horse.
Kate Turnbull, Window on Wiltshire's Heritage project officer, said: "There were many nominations over the two years, but 12 historic sites and landmarks clearly emerged as the frontrunners.
"Avebury is a worthy winner, but I hope that this project will raise the profile of all the nominees and of Wiltshire's heritage in general." Watch video of the Kennet and Avon Canal’s Crofton and Claverton Pumping Stations, commissioned by the WOW Project. Coming soon: Listen to clips from BBC Wiltshire’s interview with TV archaeologist Julian Richards.
|
