I thought this was rather interesting. I'm not being holier than thou (and it's unlikely I'll be in Australia any time soon) but since the people who consider the rock sacred (the Anangu) have asked politely that no-one climb it, it wouldn't occur to me to be such a git as to do so, and I've subscribed to that thought for many years.
I figured there are parallels you can draw with places in this country, a much smaller greener hill near Avebury. Though there's differences in ownership. and official ideas about what you're protecting when you ask people not to climb. But it does come down to respect for a certain set of people's wishes in both cases.
Anyway all interesting thought provoking stuff.
http://www.environment.gov.au/parks/publications/uluru/pubs/management-plan.pdf
I have only read the first few pages, and find myself humbled by a spiritual allegiance to land that us 'secularists' cannot begin to understand or even imitate. ' Culturally appropiate behaviour' is what they are striving for, to protect such things as their religious and philosophical base lines, the deep connection with the land and its animals and plants that provide their food and the ancestral track ways that cross the land.
To be honest Rhiannon I am not too sure you can talk about such things on TMA, and you really should not have mentioned or hinted at that firecracker word 'Silbury'. Threads always goes pear-shaped with mention of that word, it must have the evil eye ;)*
The report does look encouraging, less people going up, but who' 'craps' up on a sacred hill, must be us white Europeans that have no respect for other peoples strongly held religious views!
edit before I upset Rhiannon... I also get bored with Silbury/climbing etc, but today I learnt that the 30,000 files on that green hill so far away are being archived for posterity - which is a great relief, and that the brave archivist has managed to reduce the files to about half.....