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Silbury Hill, built by our stone age ancestors 4500 years ago, is Europe's greatest prehistoric mound. It is part of the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site and although less well known internationally than it's famous neighbours it has a legitimate claim to be regarded as their equal or even to surpass them in significance.

Judged purely in terms of effort expended on it's construction, perhaps 18 million man hours, it represents a far greater achievement by the ancient peoples than both of the others and could therefore be regarded as their greatest legacy.

Yet there is still more about Silbury that compels our attention and demands that it should be nurtured by the British public as nowhere else.

To see Silbury for the first time is to understand. To suddenly become aware of it's sheer size and unmistakable conical shape rising out of the placid and orderly Wiltshire countryside is an unforgettable experience. Silbury, indisputably, proclaims itself to be a true wonder of the world. As we speed through that small corner of Britain in our cars our ancient forebears actually speak to us directly, as nowhere else, and tell us that it is their country just as much as it is ours. Such is the power of Silbury.

Silbury speaks, yet Silbury reveals nothing. Theories abound, excavations and surveys proliferate, but still we in the modern world have no inkling of what Silbury is. A burial mound without a body? A temple to the stars? A symbolic deity? Archaeology has revealed much about the past but Silbury is an ancient wonder that refuses to bow to modern science, Forty five centuries ago it was built with passion, for a purpose, and more than that it will not share.

Instead, it tantalises to the point of humiliation. Dominating a spacious flood plain, yet built hard up against a natural hill that all but hides it from the edge of it's builder's world, the Ridgway, and the centre of their world the Avebury Henge, just a mile away. But not quite. From both locations, a mere sliver of it's summit is visible. Silbury, it appears, was inspired by modest megalomania.

Continued

"It's not the snappy webby one-page format that the pros might recommend but I think the issue has to be put down in a way that will tax Big Brother viewers else the subject won't be done justice."

With care, we can do both if you want, nigel. I've only scan read it (no time here at the mo!) but it looks to be great stuff. But it really does need breaking up etc - we can use more than one webpage if necessary.

You know me well enough to know I wouldn't bullshit you, but the only people that would read it are people who will already sign the petition etc given much less info, and a lot of those people will know it already. Others will just see all the text and (misguidedly!) not bother.

By all means it's up to you, but if you want, I can have a look at it? This evening maybe? We can keep most or even all of the detail, to 'do it justice' but target different levels of information to different people - letting them have as much detail as they want/need.

I can (also?) produce a version that'll at least continue Rhiannon's proofreading & punctuation checking!!!

love

Moth