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Silbury Hill

Silbury's structural integrity

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moss M
moss Dec 29, 2007 13:59:27
Replying to Littlestone

What I really mean is that a horrible suspicion has turned into a reality check or to quote Jimit...


"Please tell me they're not plastic and even if they are not they are still alien to the interior of the hill "

English Heritage state that, "...using many thousands of bags filled with chalk to construct and fill voids to the sides and above the tunnels..." (Silbury Hill Update 26, last paragraph on page 1).

I have posted a photograph (supplied by a reliable source) of one of these bags and they seem to be made of woven polypropylene - in other words Silbury Hill, perhaps our greatest prehistoric structure, is being filled with thousands of plastic bags!

Now as one who has asked with many others that no intrusive 'time capsules' would be left in Silbury, do I actually accept the fact that such bags are to be left in the mound. The answer is of course no, here we have archaeologists and EH praising the virtues of Silbury, “one of the largest manmade prehistoric mounds in Europe” finding sarsen stones “souls of the ancestors” within the mound and yet at the same time they are consenting to fill the voids with PLASTIC bags of chalk.!!!

EH words are just not adding up for me, final closure of Silbury is seriously undermined if all we are closing on is some more detritus of our society!

http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/post/65093/images/silbury_hill.html?stream=latest

N nigelswift
nigelswift Dec 29, 2007 17:18:52
Replying to moss

If this is right it makes no sense whatsoever.

How can they "reject" the suggestion of a modern time capsule but "elect" to put large numbers of woven polypropylene bags in there?

L Littlestone
Littlestone Dec 29, 2007 20:12:33
Replying to moss

...here we have archaeologists and EH praising the virtues of Silbury, “one of the largest manmade prehistoric mounds in Europe” finding sarsen stones “souls of the ancestors” within the mound and yet at the same time they are consenting to fill the voids with PLASTIC bags of chalk.!!!
This is OUTRAGEOUS. If thousands (thousands being English Heritage's own word re: their Silbury Hill Week 26 Update at http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.17511 ) of plastic bags have been inserted into the centre of this ancient and unique structure it is even worse than the tires and other detritus left there after Atkinson and the BBC walked away from their 'dig' in the 60s. Those responsible at English Heritage for allowing this non-conservation grade synthetic material to be introduced into the structure should submit their resignations forthwith!