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Sanctuary S
Sanctuary Dec 11, 2010 12:50:40
Replying to Littlestone

Littlestone wrote:
Speculation is fun so here’s another one:

The Obelisk was obviously an important feature of the Avebury Henge, and the fact that Silbury can be seen from that point (and vice-versa) and not from (many?) other points within the Henge, would suggest there was an intentional alignment between the two.

Sorry, oci, seem to have subverted your thread in the grand TMA tradition :-)

Good point LS but what would be the purpose of that I wonder? If you lived locally you wouldn't need to know where either the hill or Great Circle were in relation to each other so there would have to be another reason presumably other than for strangers to the area to know where one was from the other? Hmmm.

L Littlestone
Littlestone Dec 11, 2010 14:14:14
Replying to Sanctuary

If you lived locally you wouldn't need to know where either the hill or Great Circle were in relation to each other so there would have to be another reason presumably other than for strangers to the area to know where one was from the other?
Well, as I said, speculation is fun, and a lot of the speculation on these pages has subsequently been taken up by the archaeological establishment so it’s not without its merit, but where do you begin on this one?

We don’t know for sure that Silbury and the Obelisk were visible from each other when both were ‘in use’ but, assuming that they were, then anything goes really. Ceremonial use would be one possibility. Practical use as two points in a chain of beacons might also be a possibility. If you could see Silbury from other points in the Henge it’d probably be safe to say that the 'alignment' is coincidental, but the fact that it’s an alignment between Silbury and the Obelisk might suggest that it was intentional.

Speculating again, maybe it was/is possible to see Silbury from on top of the Cove; next time I see someone up there I’ll ask (then tell them to get the effing down ;-) On a serious note, you can see Silbury from Winterbourne Bassett and, at this time of year, from the road between Winterbourne Monkton and Avebury. Be nice (if it hasn’t been done already) to have a map showing all the points from which you can see Silbury.