Silbury
Hill, even for ancient Neolithic monuments is a bit of a mystery.
It appears right by the side of the main A4 road about one mile south
west of Avebury.
There are some theories about it, but no real front-runner that convinces
all.
Even dating of when and how long it take to build have see sawed over
recent time.
The latest suggestion is that Silbury Hill is the finale, the full
stop at the end of the Neolithic age, the last great monument
Unlike most of the Neolithic monuments at Avebury its strictly off
limits for the public, for your own safety. There is a small car park
and viewing terrace with information boards, but this is away from
the hill itself. |
Silbury
Hill |
The guide
books will tell you its the largest man made mound in Europe.
At 130 feet high and covering an area in excess of 5 acres the enormous
contours of the hill challenge us with the mystery of why it was built
and what for.
To many it reminds them of the pyramids in Egypt and following on
from this was perhaps a burial mound for someone important ?.
A lot of people have thought this and as a result funnelled into the
hill over the ages only to find, well nothing - its just a solid mound.
As a result of all this tunnelling for treasure the hill is now unsafe
for you and I to climb over the hill.
Whatever our confusion, the Neolithics must have had a clear idea
of the purpose of Silbury Hill. The manpower required to build such
a structure was vast and someone had to inspire and lead people to
buy into the project over decades and generations.
The hill itself has distinct stages of building, but is very simple
in construction. It is assumed that in its day it would have been
pure white, devoid of the vegetation that now cloaks it. The natural
colour of the chalk rock.
One interesting fact about it is the height of Silbury Hill and its
flat platform at the top.
This flat top can just be seen or is level with key points all around
the Avebury complex, including the centre of Southern Sun Henge at
Avebury. |
|
