ARCHAEOLOGY lovers descended on one of the country's most important prehistoric sites to hear about controversial plans for its future.

Thornborough Henges, near Ripon, has the greatest concentration of late Neolithic and early Bronze Age henges, or circular monuments, in the country.

The site is also quarried by Tarmac, which has announced plans to extend its operation, a move that archaeologists said will seriously destroy the landscape around the henges.

The site's future was highlighted on Tuesday by the BBC series Time Flyers, when presenter Dr Mark Horton, who is head of archaeology at Bristol University, said he was appalled by what he had seen at Thornborough.

He said: "That such landscape destruction could even be considered around Stonehenge, or even our lesser-known sites in the south, is unthinkable.

"With the new scheme to tunnel the A303 under the Stonehenge landscape, the Government has recognised that a largely unscheduled landscape has to be preserved in situ at a cost to the nation of around £100m.

"Yet at Thornborough, it is OK to seriously consider the total loss of a prehistoric landscape, arguably as important, for simple economic gain."

More than 300 concerned archaeology enthusiasts visited the site to attend a meeting, organised by the Friends of Thornborough, on Saturday.

They heard detailed information regarding Tarmac's plans to quarry the immediate surroundings of the henges.

Jon Lowry, chairman of the Friends of Thornborough, said: "Considering that the programme Time Flyers conflicted with EastEnders we are really pleased with the response."

As yet, no formal planning application has been submitted to the council, but Tarmac's proposals have met with fierce local opposition by local residents, who have established the Friends of Thornborough campaign group.

It is running a petition on the Internet and already have more than 600 members.

But Tarmac has insisted that there are no plans to dig up or destroy the henges and has assured residents that it would restore the site in consultation with archaeological experts.