Latest News

cruithni.org/issues/silbury/savesilbury.html

September 8th, 2001:

Venue Avebury main car-park with walk to Silbury Hill.

A mass walk to bring attention to the sorry state of the hill and to demand that govt money is provided to repair the damage. By this date the current surveys should be completed and an idea of just how much work and money is needed should be ready.

Help to keep the pressure up and to get media attention by joining the walk, meet up in the main car- park around 1-1.30pm ready to set off to Silbury Hill car park at 2pm.

Bring a picnic, bring children, bring your friends, bring banners. This is to be a peaceful demonstration so the more peaceful types the better!

The last march went off very well with a friendly police presence and some of the kids getting lifts in the back of the lead police car. If by any chance an announcement is made that the funds will be made available then the day will transform into a celebration instead.

If any of you who live in cities and don’t have cars would like to offer to arrange coaches get in touch. Likewise anyone with car space.

Birmingham/Midlands pagans are already trying to arrange coach hire and places. Make a day out of it, book a coach for your moot, enjoy a day out in Ancient Avebury and do something to show support for Silbury Hill.

Anyone wanting to offer to be a steward for the day please get in touch by mailing [email protected], stewards are needed to try to talk people out of climbing the hill and to ensure safety on the walk (fluorescent jackets provided).

news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_1493000/1493535.stm

Scanners probe Stone Age mystery

Archaeologists are using computer imaging to try to solve one of the biggest mysteries of Stone Age Britain.

Silbury Hill in Wiltshire is the biggest man-made neolithic mound in Europe – but nobody knows why it was built.

The 130ft foot grassy mound, which was built more than 4,000 years ago, has been seriously threatened by a hole which appeared in its summit in May last year.

As repairs get under way English Heritage wants to carry out a seismic study of the hill to create 3D computer images of what lies inside.

A hole appeared in the hill’s summit last year

First they have to shore up an 18th century shaft from a previous excavation that collapsed several months ago.

It has already been reinforced with polystyrene, and on Thursday helicopters will transport 36 tonnes of chalk to cap the opening.

Once the hill has been made safe, four small vertical holes will be bored into its side so that scientists can increase the detail of the interior scan.

The results should be known in October. Archaeologists have tried to uncover the secret of Silbury Hill for more than 200 years.

Archaeologists will use an 18th Century shaft

The giant mound would have taken 700 men 10 years to complete, using antler picks and shovels made from the shoulder bones of animals.

There have been several theories about the site, which forms part of the ancient landscape surrounding Avebury stone circle and nearby Stonehenge.

No evidence has been found of any human burials but many believe it was a sacred monument.

Others think it was nothing more than a Stone Age waste tip.

English Heritage News Release
6/8/2001

WORLD CLASS TEAM TO SUPPORT DESIGN OF NEW STONEHENGE CENTRE

The next exciting phase in the creation of the new Visitor Facilities at
Stonehenge, located outside the World Heritage Site at
Countess East, Amesbury, was announced by English Heritage on Friday 3
August. The appointment of a world-class team who will support the project
architects Denton Corker Marshall comprises a Project Manager, Structural
and Civil Engineer, Landscape Architect, Mechanical and Electrical
Engineers, Transport Engineer and Quantity Surveyor.
In April 2001 English Heritage announced the appointment of Denton Corker
Marshall as architects and design team leaders. Now, with today’s
appointments, design will rapidly advance.

Announcing the selection, John Vimpany, Project Director for Stonehenge,
said: “I am delighted to welcome to the Project a design team whose dynamic
mix of skills and expertise will combine to produce one of the best visitor
centres in the world.

“Each firm has been carefully selected against stiff competition from an
international field to bring creativity and expertise to the project. They
have a real understanding of Stonehenge as a World Heritage Site and the
importance of restoring an open landscape around it.”

The appointments announced today are:

Structural and Civil Engineers – Anthony Hunt Associates Ltd
This highly respected firm of structural and civil engineers has worked with
many of the country’s most respected architects such as Richard Rogers
Partnership, Foster & Partners and John McAslan Architects. They also share
many similar design principals with Denton Corker Marshall, the project’s
architects. Previous high profile projects include the Eden Project in
Cornwall, the National Botanic Gardens in Wales and the North Greenwich
Transport Interchange.

Landscape Architect – Chris Blandford Associates
Well known for their sensitive approach to landscape design, CBA bring to
the project a deep understanding of the cultural, planning and environmental
issues that affect the landscape surrounding Stonehenge. This appointment
follows their earlier work on the Stonehenge World Heritage Site Management
Plan, the Tower of London World Heritage Site and extensive work for the
Department of Transport.

Project Manager – Gardiner & Theobald Management Services
GTMS will provide the vital link between English Heritage and the design
team headed by architects Denton Corker Marshall. They have a proven
track-record in managing high profile heritage projects including the
Imperial War Museum North, the Salisbury Cathedral Magna Carta Project, the
Windsor Castle Fire Restoration and the National Gallery Sainsbury Wing.

Quantity Surveyor – Davis Langdon & Everest
Davis Langdon & Everest’s international reputation is based on a wide range
of prestigious projects, especially in the cultural and museums sector
including the Eden Project, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Tate Gallery
and British Museum.

Mechanical & Electrical Engineer – Norman Disney and Young
This fast growing international firm of engineering consultants are known
for their work on the Shell Mex House in London, the Museum of New Zealand
and the visitor centre at the Australia War Museum.

Transport Engineer – Colin Buchanan and Partners
Colin Buchanan and Partners is one of the UK’s leading transport
consultants, with experience in providing transport solutions for a variety
of projects both in the UK and overseas. Previous projects include the
creation of regeneration strategies for London and Middlesborough and a
Transport Feasibility Study for Oxford.

A draft scheme for the visitor centre and transport link will be produced
later this year, on which English Heritage will consult the National Trust
and the other Stonehenge Master Plan partners, prior to detailed designs
being drawn up to form the basis of a planning application in 2002/3.

Some of you might have read in the Guardian last week that this issue was resolved. It was reported that a compromise had been agreed and that the Nine Ladies were safe from quarrying. Unfortunately, this is not true and looks like it will not be resolved until May of this year. So the good people up in Derbyshire that are fighting to ensure the future of this most beautiful site are still in need of your support. Don’t forget them!
I am very sad to say that a good Derbyshire woman named Dian Case has passed away. She was passionate about saving the Nine Ladies (and was a long-time campaigner for any endangered Derbyshire countryside). R.I.P.

Thanks again to Kevin for providing us with this update on Sea Henge...

It’s official. Norfolk’s Sea Henge is to be returned to the waves.
Here is a couple of paragraphs from a recent addition of the local rag “The Lynn News and Advertiser”.

Chairman of Lynn and West Norfolk Museums Committee Ted Benefer said: “The mystical quality the timbers had in their beach setting in Holme would just be too difficult to recreate in a museum. The preservation and upkeep of the circle, if displayed off-site, would also be a drain on resources, because it is unlikely the timbers themselves would be a big draw for visitors”

BBC Local radio and regional Television have subsequently been running with the line that early next year the timbers would be buried “as close to their original setting as possible”.

The story doesn’t seem to have made the national press. I am assuming Time Team wont be
doing a “special” about the sites re burial ( despite the fact that their TV companion book features a picture of Sea Henge, pre desecration, on its cover).

So the timber will be re buried, in the wrong place.

A case of Flawed Genius Loci.

Thanks to Kevin for supplying the following update and thoughts on Sea Henge...

Oh dear.. looks like a black day for the desecration brigade.

It appears that no one wants to give a home to the displaced timbers of Sea Henge.
Strangely such an interesting story has made little impact in the national press but here is a transcript of a recently broadcast BBC Regional TV item.

“Seahenge timber circle may end up back on the beach where it was originally found. Talks are continuing over its future... and siting it on Holme beach is one of the options being considered.
West Norfolk Borough Council has turned down the chance to have it.”

It seems some people have noticed that the rotten timbers slumped in a visitor centre somehow lack the enchantment they had when glimpsed rising from the waters once every thirty or so years on a windswept Norfolk beach. What a surprise. I would hazard a guess that if you pulled Stone Henge down and re assembled it in the car park at Heathrow airport it would also lose some of its dignity.

Pulling a sacred site apart may help archaeologists find out HOW it got there but will never reveal WHY it got there. The answer to that is in the question; it is the THERE which is important.

If a hard pressed subsistence culture busted its ass to put stones/timbers/burials in a specific place then they did it for a reason. I think you can only begin to glimpse those reasons if you keep artifacts and site together.

Sea Henge was a local secret. Some of the people of Holme new it appeared every few decades. Grandfathers took their grandchildren to see it when certain rhythms of time and tide permitted it to be seen.

I’m not saying that was the original intention of the builders, but I would argue that it has a certain poetry about it. No one wants to gawp at some dislocated rotten stumps in a museum. No one wants to stand on a beach and say “there USED to be a sacred site out there, somewhere”.

Even the most pragmatic amongst us must have that sneaky feeling that a spell has been broken.

Meanwhile 4000 year old bits of wood free to a good home.

Thanks to Fiona Young who sent in this article from her local Aberdeenshire newspaper:

“Stone Circle Named As Ancient Monument”
by Audrey Innes

The remains of a group of North-east standing stones, which date back more than 5,000 years, look set to be named as an official ancient monument later this year.

The Neolithic stone circle, which can be found to the west of North Mains of Auchmaliddie, near Longside, is to be scheduled by Historic Scotland.

This will result in the recumbent circle receiving statutory protection and will be monitored by inspectors on a cyclical basis.

The majority of the stones have been stolen and only the recumbent stone and west flanker, which has now fallen, have survived.

The white quartz stones are understood to have been quarried within the area.

A spokesman for Historic Scotland said this type of stone circle was distinctive to the North-east and dates from the later Neolithic period, around 3,000BC.

He said: “The monument is in the process of being scheduled as an ancient monument and the work will be completed within the next three months.”

He added that they had still to speak with the monument’s owners.

Yesterday, South Buchan councillor Norma Thomson, who represents Auchmaliddie, said: “Buchan is rich in historic sites and monuments such as these, so any moves to protect our heritage in this way are to be welcomed.”

Banff and Buchan MSP Alex Salmond said: “The site has not been inspected by the authorities for the last 10 years or so and concerns were expressed to me about the potential implications of this.”

He added: “I contacted Historic Scotland and I am pleased that they arranged for an inspection to be carried out and consider the site worthy of inclusion as a scheduled monument.”

There are about 100 of these recumbent stone circles within the North-east. They usually comprise of a ring of stones, around 65ft in diameter with the largest stone, the recumbent, lying on its side.

Yes, it’s true that a huge hole has appeared at the top of Silbury. I’ve just come back from checking it out, and the entire area is roped off and the NT is not letting anyone near. The hole has appeared precisely where it was excavated in the late 1700s, and an NT spokesperson believes that it was re-opened as a result of all the recent rain. The NT is treating this as a very serious matter, as they no doubt realise that they cannot patrol the Hill 24 hours a day and that folks will continue to ascend.
Very worrying indeed.