Re: To the Heart of the Matter | Forum

Silbury Hill 180

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To the Heart of the Matter

tjj Nov 23, 2007 20:38:11

Replying to fitzcoraldo

Hi Fitz,
I have been somewhat perplexed by this thread and having made a small, probably not helpful contribution, last weekend I decided to keep out of it, especially when 'falling chalk' was being discussed as it would seem that back-filling the voids as speedily as possible with the minimum risk to life and limb was the order of the day and that English Heritage were getting on with it - in spite of adverse conditions.

What was not at all clear from the last English Heritage Update is why they are laying the cable along the floor of the main tunnel. I understand from reading other contributions that the cardinal rule of conservation is to restore the monument (mound in this case) to as close as possible to its original state. Having conceded the point over the time capsule issue then it doesn't seem to make sense for EH to be laying cables inside Silbury. I assumed there must be a very good reason e.g. monitoring future structural instability but it would be helpful if EH spelt out their reasons - perhaps they have and I missed it.

If anyone else can clarify this question (why?) I would appreciate it.

Regards
tjj (june)

Littlestone Nov 23, 2007 23:02:19

Replying to tjj

I assumed there must be a very good reason e.g. monitoring future structural instability but it would be helpful if EH spelt out their reasons - perhaps they have and I missed it.

English Heritage states that its reasons for burying a cable beneath the floor of the tunnel is so that electrical measurements can be made once it is backfilled. I actually agree with fits when he says. "Leaving equipment inside of the hill to remotely monitor its condition and confirm the effectiveness of the repairs seems perfectly reasonable...."

From a conservation point of view however English Heritage have yet again contravened accepted principles; the first of those involves the cutting of a new trench and the removal of a considerable amount of original Neolithic building material (it shouldn't be too difficult to calculate how much original material has been removed as it's just a question of calculating the size of the trench measuring [say 2 foot square to be generous] by the length of the tunnel - anyone up for doing that :-) What is disturbing is that A) No warning or consultation with the public on the rights or wrongs of removing that amount of original material was done. B) No report has been issued by English Heritage on what has happened to the original Neolithic building material removed to cut the trench and C) why it was necessary to cut the trench in the first place? Couldn't the cable have been laid along the floor of the existing Atkinson/BBC tunnel? There are other conservation questions relating to the question of reversibility (ie, can the cable, or anything else left within the structure, be safely and completely removed at a later date?).

It is this sort of cavalier attitude by English Heritage that casts a shadow on the good work they undoubtedly do elsewhere, and it is an attitude which is totally unnecessary. Is it really so difficult for English Heritage to publish on their Silbury Updates website, regularly, what is going on at the site and the reasons for it?