Aliens at Avebury

Silbury Hill 180

Image by Chance

Littlestone Aug 11, 2007 18:14:16

In a letter to the Guardian newspaper on Thursday, 19 July 2007, Lord Avebury, owner of Silbury Hill, writes, "Placing a foreign object in the monument offends conservation principles, as well as the spiritual beliefs of some people. Describing the object as a time capsule means that EH expects it to be retrieved at some future date, requiring further tunnelling, yet the current works have been undertaken to correct the mistakes of past excavations."*

Leaving alien objects in Silbury (whether a time capsule, the Atkinson door, lintel etc) blatantly contravenes accepted principles of conservation (not to mention offending the spiritual beliefs of some and the ethics of others. In light of current conservation/structural problems at Silbury, and the fact that future tunnelling into the monument to retrieve a 2007 'time capsule' is now inconceivable, will English Heritage concede, and announce via its Silbury Hill update website, that plans to leave alien objects in Silbury have been abandoned.

* http://www.guardian.co.uk/letters/story/0,,2129468,00.html

nigelswift Aug 12, 2007 06:13:10

Replying to Littlestone

Well, if that’s what the owner says….

(and particularly if the owner is totally devoted to it and happens to be the best Prime Minister Britain never had (IMHO), and his grandfather specifically acquired it to protect it, and unselfishly handed its protection over to the state and protected thousands of other sites by introducing the Ancient Monuments Act)

…. then who is better qualified to speak authoritatively on the subject? And who is qualified to ignore him?

Pilgrim Aug 12, 2007 09:43:29

Replying to Littlestone

That's a very interesting letter, Littlestone.

IF the Time Capsule is to be buried with in the Hill, I wonder if all (or indeed any) of the:

"17 individuals, appointed by the Secretary of State for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, for their skill or professional standing in one or more areas of expertise"

.. that make up the governing board of the English Heritage Commission are aware of the plan to bury a Time Capsule in a Scheduled Monument? Or if they have already accepted invitations to the ceremony? They went to Berwick with Bill......

Peace

Pilgrim

Littlestone Aug 14, 2007 21:25:26

Replying to Littlestone

English Heritage's second short film is now available at http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.17511 It opens with a stunning snow-covered shot of Silbury. It is this sort of image that brings home what a treasure we have here and how badly the structure has been treated over the last few hundred years. The thought that English Heritage is even contemplating leaving 20th and 21st century objects inside the structure beggars belief.

Silbury stands far apart from the arrogance of modern publicity and the treasure hunters of the past. Watch the film, repair the damage, and then let it be.

Littlestone Aug 17, 2007 11:16:04

Replying to Littlestone

English Heritage's Ask the Experts page at http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.17513 has a feature entitled, What plant remains have been found inside Silbury Hill? Can't help wondering if everything necessary is being done to prevent degradation of those plant remains or if EH's methods here are the most appropriate.

Littlestone Aug 20, 2007 18:08:23

Replying to Littlestone

Pete Reade was born in 1923 in Henley-on-Thames. At the age of 5 Pete and his family moved to Avebury. In 2003, in celebration of Pete's 80th birthday, he published a little book called A Good Reade: Memories of a Wiltshire Life. I don't know if the book is generally available (it was self-published) but it contains some interesting descriptions of Avebury in the first part of the twentieth century and of Pete's life there (he went to school in Avebury, played on and around Silbury, and worked for Alexander Keiller for a while). It would be a pity to see Pete's recollections of his life in Avebury go more-or-less unnoticed so the following is the first of a few more short extracts to follow from Pete's A Good Reade.

"I was born on January 30th 1923 at Langham Villa (now Langham House Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire... I left Henley in 1928 when I was five years old, so do not remember too much about my life there, but have always had an affection for it and for several years went back there during regatta week... We moved from Henley to Avebury in Wiltshire. My father had obtained a position as Chauffer/Mechanic to Mr H Blagrave, millionaire racehorse owner and trainer at the Grange at Beckhampton which was the next village to Avebury... We had some good neighbours at Avebury and I enjoyed going into the village school along with my many playmates. We had to go about a mile to school across the fields and passing over the River Kennet, which at that time had plenty of water in it. I can remember the traction engines stopping at the bridge on the main road and filling their boilers up with water. During the summer holidays we used to help in the harvest fields and at the end of the day we would argue over who was going to ride on the horses back to the stables. I have spent many happy ours playing in and around the barns at Avebury, and to think that now one has to pay money to go in the great barn there, where I once spent so much time along with my pals."