Not necessarily to view the surrounding area (though in later times, and for reasons of defence, that was likely).

But if we’re talking about its original purpose, the view from the top might not have been that important really. As I said above, what happened after completion of the structure is perhaps the interesting bit; was it reserved for special ceremonies with only an elite few allowed access, was it open to all at any time, or was it a combination of both - out of bounds to most people most of the time but opened up a few times a year for special occasions?

To that we could add, did it have something on the top to be viewed from the surrounding landscape? The fact that Silbury can be seen from so many points in the area surely points to that being its original and primary role – in other words it was constructed to be seen, not to see from. Interestingly, we could argue that Stonehenge was designed with the opposite in mind :-)