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Silbury Hill

Neolithic site swap anyone

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wideford W
wideford Apr 1, 2005 10:55:27
Replying to Hob

Interesting fact about Maes Howe is that recent researches found evidence for at least a pre-existant standing stone, so the idea is that Maes Howe was built on the site of an henge. Could it be that the mound was mostly finished before the stone structure was fully under way ? Nah ! Second thought; if a Neolithic 'tourist' took the mound idea from Maes Howe maybe the site was only seen from afar, too sacred to allow just anyone near. So copied only a mound.
If rather than being homologous Maes Howe and Silbury are analogous could it be the lack of decent structures found within the latter is that Silbury Hill too has been built over a pre-existing henge monument, only without any other mods ?

H Hob
Hob Apr 3, 2005 01:24:39
Replying to wideford

>Could it be that the mound was mostly finished before the stone structure was fully under way ?

Mebbes. It would make corbelling with heavy stones easier I suspect. I wouldn't want to have had the of dropping that monster passage slab down into a hole in a mound though.

It seems totally plausible that monumental mounds could have been built on top of pre-existing non-moundy monuments. One could even be tempted to say it would be likely for a spot of prior significance to be deemed a suitable place to go through all the effort of piling up vast quantities of soil/rubble whathaveyou. Look at that place with all the trilithons, if stones put up in places that were already special, why not the same with soil (for those who were of a mind to pile soil instead of lugging rocks)?

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