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.

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