There is no known burial Jo-anne, and there have been one top to bottom shaft 1776-7 (this started the problem), then a tunnel in 1849, and they cut side galleys in and around the centre that in plan view looks like an asphix key shape, and another tunnel was cut in 1968 joining the older tunnel.
The problem is that it wasn't known that the shaft was never properly backfilled because no record was made at the time and EH and their state ancestors have never kept any records in over 120 years, so a pattern of material dropping down the shaft wasn't noticed and was continually topped up by maintenance crews who throught the damage caused by rabbits. This material in the shaft eventually collapsed because the 1968 tunnel was refilled by spoil being blown back in (a standard mining technique at the time) and this left voids as it wasn't truly compacted. Roof falls above these voids finally combined with rain from above and material collapsed down the shaft in 2000. A further major collapse occurred because EH ignored advice to use a tarpaulin cover and went for a metal cover suspended on scaffold poles, this collected water and as they had fitted no means of guttering it deposited the water down the shaft, the metal cover inevitably attracted ice loading that made the structure multiply its own weight by Ks, thus it collapsed into the hole sending more precious archaeology into oblivion.
This is only part of the story of course.
Sorry, I have to go for my tea so haven't re-read this.
VBB
Reply | with quote | Posted by VenerableBottyBurp 1st June 2005ce 20:26 |
When Silbury is tunnelled (Littlestone, May 30, 2005, 23:46)- Re: When Silbury is tunnelled (smallblueplanet, May 31, 2005, 09:05)
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- Re: Tilting the World: an open letter to Julian (smallblueplanet, May 31, 2005, 21:53)
- Re: Tilting the World: an open letter to Julian (follow that cow, May 31, 2005, 22:21)
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- Re: Tilting the World: an open letter to Julian (follow that cow, May 31, 2005, 22:45)
- Re: Tilting the World: an open letter to Julian (BrigantesNation, Jun 01, 2005, 01:45)
- Re: Tilting the World: an open letter to Julian (archae_logical, May 31, 2005, 23:22)
- Re: Tilting the World: an open letter to Julian (BrigantesNation, Jun 01, 2005, 01:44)
- Re: Tilting the World: an open letter to Julian (BrigantesNation, Jun 01, 2005, 01:40)
- Re: Tilting the World: an open letter to Julian (jimit, Jun 01, 2005, 09:42)
- Re: Tilting the World: an open letter to Julian (Littlestone, Jun 08, 2005, 21:15)
- Re: When Silbury is tunnelled (nigelswift, May 31, 2005, 23:28)
- Re: Hang on Hang on ! (VenerableBottyBurp, Jun 01, 2005, 11:21)
- Re: Hang on Hang on ! (Littlestone, Jun 01, 2005, 11:46)
- Re: Hang on Hang on ! (nigelswift, Jun 01, 2005, 12:56)
- Re: Hang on Hang on ! (VenerableBottyBurp, Jun 01, 2005, 14:19)
- Re: Hang on Hang on ! (smallblueplanet, Jun 01, 2005, 18:42)
- Re: Hang on Hang on ! (nigelswift, Jun 01, 2005, 19:32)
- Re: Hang on Hang on ! (Jo-anne, Jun 01, 2005, 20:09)
- Re: Hang on Hang on ! (smallblueplanet, Jun 01, 2005, 20:25)
- Re: Hang on Hang on ! (VenerableBottyBurp, Jun 01, 2005, 20:26)
- Re: Hang on - how about this? (nigelswift, Jun 02, 2005, 07:30)
- Re: When Silbury is tunnelled (goffik, Jun 04, 2005, 21:04)
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