Posted on 05/12/2007 10:43:08 AM PDT by blam
Work begins to uncover secrets of Silbury Hill
By Richard Savill
Last Updated: 2:26am BST 12/05/2007
Work began yesterday to save an ancient landmark in Wiltshire from collapsing.
Silbury Hill, which at 130 feet high is the largest prehistoric man-made construction in Europe, continues to mystify archaeologists.
English Heritage is to spend £600,000 this summer trying to preserve the mound.
Specialist engineers will enter the mound through a tunnel which was dug in 1968 by a team led by the archaeologist, Prof Richard Atkinson. That tunnel was the last of three made over two centuries by archaeologists.
The original purpose and use of the hill, which is south of the village of Avebury, is still a mystery. Theories suggest it was either a burial mound, a solar observatory or a representation of a Neolithic goddess.
"It is very unlikely we will ever know why it was built," said Robert Bewley, English Heritage regional director for the South West.
"But this project may give us a better idea of when it was built and how it was built. That could provide us with further clues as to why it was built."
On Thursday archaeologists found the small end of an antler outside the tunnel. "This shows they could only use the antlers of deer and pickaxes," Mr Bewley said. "Their tools were very simple so it was a phenomenal achievement to build a mound like that.
"We know from Prof Atkinson's investigation there were at least two phases of construction. We hope to clarify how long it took to build the mound, which may have been a generation or more."
Engineers yesterday prised open the door of the 1968 tunnel. They will repack every inch of the 40-year-old tunnel as they withdraw to make sure it is stable. A number of craters on the hill will also be refilled.
Earlier this year, archaeologists found traces of a Roman settlement at the landmark. They believe the site may have been a place of pilgrimage 2,000 years ago.
Mr Bewley said: "The hill has been a stunning part of the Wiltshire landscape for 4,400 years and we hope the work we do this summer will stabilise its structure and keep it safe for many years to come."
Impressive, but they are not much more complex than piled up dirt.
Get enough people/slaves/prisoners, and you can pile a lot of dirt up. Strange that this mound didn’t start getting holes and subsiding marks in the top until the arch’s starting tunneling recently.
I don’t understand how they could tell this is a man made mound and not a natural hill? Anyone?
Also, maybe the point to be yet discovered here this ancient civilization’s people didn’t have much in the way of brain cells, lol. Spending a lot of time making a hill...?!
And guffaws back at you!
Those have got to limit sleep posture options.
If "we think" it was built spiral-fashion; if "we don't know" how it was built; if "we aren't sure" why it was built; if "we have no idea" how it origianlly looked:
Then how in Hell can "we fix" it?
Maybe they could just follow the current trend of archeology, and bury it in plaster of paris, until "future archeologistss have the knowlege and expertise to properly study" it.
it helps to see it in person to know, at least intuitively. who knows if the is a SMALL rise in the land underneath, but silsbury hill is distinct and visible from miles away.,, is circular and conical and there is nothing remotely comparable to it in height or shape in that area that I have ever seen.
The big brain came from the Neandertal. :’)
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Ancient rulers believed that idle hands did the devil's work against them. Busy subjects were too tired to revolt.
"Now that you've finished digging that hole, fill it up!"
Peer's fears over 'pyramid' hillLord Avebury says he is "stunned" the Countryside Agency's wants to label Silbury Hill in Wiltshire as "unimproved chalk grassland". The move could lead to ramblers having free access to the hill, which opponents fear may cause damage. However, the agency says it took the decision because the 4,700-year-old hill is a "man-made structure"... The act has already sparked one high-profile spat in Wiltshire with pop star Madonna keen to protect her privacy and estate from walkers and inquisitive sightseers. On Monday Lord Avebury told the hearing, at Hungerford, Berkshire, the hill was "comparable with the ancient Pyramids of Egypt or the Great Pyramids of Mexico". Silbury Hill, near Avebury, is thought to date back nearly 5,000 years to the Neolithic period. Archaeologists from English Heritage began investigating the hill four years ago after a hole appeared in the top, prompting fears it could collapse.
BBC
Monday, May 17, 2004
English Heritage I know; but what the Sam Hill is Countryside Agency?!? It sounds like a realty outift.
Could Be.
Okay, can we consider that there are geological events happening in the various plates that are part of our existing continents which, in the short term seem somewhat drastic, but in the millemium term are but a drop in the geolocigal schema of things...humm
Offas Dyke
The highest concentration of 'O' type blood in the world is behind Offas Dyke.
I also wanted to attach this other post regarding Michau Pichau:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1832477/posts
If “we think” it was built spiral-fashion; if “we don’t know” how it was built; if “we aren’t sure” why it was built; if “we have no idea” how it origianlly looked:
Then how in Hell can “we fix” it?
I don’t know...ask President Bush, it all his fault!
Wow. Thanks for that reply, because I knew it had to be actually something that triggered all the attention, something that set it apart.
Really, I have always found Sillbury Hill to be interesting, kinda nice to know that bit.
what the Sam Hill is Countryside Agency?!? It sounds like a realty outfit.I think that really is a realty office, and it's probably located in Sam Hill, but that's a different site. ;')
And there’s also Wat’s Dyke, which is centuries older than Offa’s Dyke, and may have inspired it.
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