Re: Spinning the Spiral Hill | Forum — The Modern Antiquarian

Silbury Hill 180

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Spinning the Spiral Hill

nigelswift Jan 8, 2004 18:06:43

Replying to VenerableBottyBurp

VBB, for someone with such an unfortunate name you don't half talk a lot of sense!

BN, you ask "So, the question is, do we want more archaeology done, or do we want the hole filled up?"
That's exactly the issue they are confronting, see here (Section 6).....

http://66.102.11.104/search?q=cache:8WbaStAJvg8J:accessibility.english-heritage.org.uk/Filestore/about-us/pdf/ehac/ehac_minutes_sep2003.pdf+english+heritage+commission+silbury&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

You'll see they are starting from the unqualified premise that the hill is basically stable. But I don't see how anyone could really have told them that there's no risk here and I'd rather like to see it in black and white, and in context and in full. If they've received such assurances they have nothing to fear from releasing the report but until then I'm disinclined to believe that a structure that contains unsupported horizontal chalk/clay tunnels is "basically stable" especially whilst they don't deign to share what they mean by their only other bit of information "but in need of attention" and "more investigation needed".

One more thing from that link made my blood run cold, I don't know what you think VBB: "Dr Bell suggested that the hydrological element of the hill be investigated." That means water, the number one danger. And they don't yet know about it.

VenerableBottyBurp Jan 8, 2004 18:45:45

Replying to nigelswift

I told my kids it was rude to call people an old fart - so they called me Venerable Botty Burp. Pete thought it was so funny I used it so I would not be too serious...

On that note I should state I could give Dr Bell a ring...

Some archaeos state Silbury was white during prehistory, and it would be during construction, but look at the experimental earthwork on Overton Down and you realise that other than the spiral taking construction traffic Silbury would soon have been green, and soon would have slumped (there are lots of chalk cottages on the down and at Uffington) if not constructed to either stay dry or use the rain by channelling and draining.

As Pete's stunning sequential pics of the Winterbourne show, they run dry but when this happens Silbury collects and discharges water into the ditch which retains water while the Winterbournes are empty. Far be it from me to suggest this is what Silbury was for (a Lido and source of water for users of the Avebury sports arena), but there is no doubt this water throughput must have been altered by the digging of the shaft and the possible ending up in the ditch of 8'x8'x135' of spoil residues, let alone side slips and millennia of erosion. It could be the water route has been clogged and Silbury is getting its bum too wet, it should be checked out for health and at the same time something might turn up.

This could all be bollox, but I think Bell deserves his go with a snorkel.

VBB