Silbury Hill 180
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Silbury Hill

The Story of Silbury Hill — Paperback

Sanctuary S
Sanctuary Oct 29, 2010 18:07:23
Replying to tiompan

tiompan wrote:
[quote="Sanctuary"][quote="tiompan"][quote="Sanctuary"][quote="fachtna"]Hi Sanctuary

Great story S. The main difference is the greater number of phases , as derived from the more recent work .

Yes to be truthful I don't know how all this phase stuff works or how to interpret it. I know because of my background in the building trade and groundwork I have done, that you can only go so far before you have to compact everything so that what you have so far is stable. Once done off you go again. Now whether that is what is regarded as a 'phase' I don't know but maybe Fachtna could put us straight here!
When you compact a base for a building you 'blind' it with sand or grit or at least something that fills the gaps left by larger materials and it forms a layer. Anything over that is considered another layer but still part of the same structure so not a separate build but yes another phase.

Something else we don't seem to hear about anymore is the 'wedding cake' or drum formation that Prof Atkinson mentioned and the series of radial walls which divided each drum into compartments that were then filled with compacted chalk. Those walls were supposed to have been built with chalk blocks weren't they! Maybe JL mentions this in his book.

S Sanctuary
Sanctuary Oct 29, 2010 19:27:43
Replying to Sanctuary

Sanctuary wrote:
tiompan wrote:
[quote="Sanctuary"][quote="tiompan"][quote="Sanctuary"][quote="fachtna"]Hi Sanctuary

Great story S. The main difference is the greater number of phases , as derived from the more recent work .

Yes to be truthful I don't know how all this phase stuff works or how to interpret it. I know because of my background in the building trade and groundwork I have done, that you can only go so far before you have to compact everything so that what you have so far is stable. Once done off you go again. Now whether that is what is regarded as a 'phase' I don't know but maybe Fachtna could put us straight here!
When you compact a base for a building you 'blind' it with sand or grit or at least something that fills the gaps left by larger materials and it forms a layer. Anything over that is considered another layer but still part of the same structure so not a separate build but yes another phase.

Something else we don't seem to hear about anymore is the 'wedding cake' or drum formation that Prof Atkinson mentioned and the series of radial walls which divided each drum into compartments that were then filled with compacted chalk. Those walls were supposed to have been built with chalk blocks weren't they! Maybe JL mentions this in his book.

I just love this painting by Judith Dobie showing her impression of Silbury Hill being constructed.
http://www.wessexarch.co.uk/images/avebury-teachers-kit/silbury-hill-reconstruction-judith-dobie

T tjj
tjj Oct 29, 2010 19:30:41
Replying to Sanctuary

Sanctuary
Just want to say how enjoyable this discussion has been - and ironic as it appears neither you or Tiompan have seen the book. I have refrained from joining in as haven't fully read the book yet (I'm on the very last bit of Stieg Larsson trilogy and having read the other two books - will be ready for some serious non-fiction when I finish). I think the Silbury book is a must have, there is a lot more in it than looking at the recent conservation work and the construction of the mound. The authors take its history up to the Romans and into medieval period (11th century) when it appears to have been modified and perhaps used as a convenient look-out point along the old Roman road.
My copy was heavily discounted from W.H.Smith online.

T tiompan
tiompan Oct 30, 2010 10:54:09
Replying to Sanctuary

Sanctuary wrote:
tiompan wrote:
[quote="Sanctuary"][quote="tiompan"][quote="Sanctuary"][quote="fachtna"]Hi Sanctuary

Great story S. The main difference is the greater number of phases , as derived from the more recent work .

Yes to be truthful I don't know how all this phase stuff works or how to interpret it. I know because of my background in the building trade and groundwork I have done, that you can only go so far before you have to compact everything so that what you have so far is stable. Once done off you go again. Now whether that is what is regarded as a 'phase' I don't know but maybe Fachtna could put us straight here!
When you compact a base for a building you 'blind' it with sand or grit or at least something that fills the gaps left by larger materials and it forms a layer. Anything over that is considered another layer but still part of the same structure so not a separate build but yes another phase.

Something else we don't seem to hear about anymore is the 'wedding cake' or drum formation that Prof Atkinson mentioned and the series of radial walls which divided each drum into compartments that were then filled with compacted chalk. Those walls were supposed to have been built with chalk blocks weren't they! Maybe JL mentions this in his book.

Just noticed this S .For me a phase in archaeological terms is related a change in use ,which could mean destruction of the an earlier phase so not really the same as a building term . Once again I don't know what is in the book but the earlier understanding was the curvilinear chalk walls noted by Atkinson were considered , in 2007 , to be part of the neolithic construction technique of the mound ."Finer deposits were laid horizontally and revetted by larger chalk rubble forming a crude dry stone wall "

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