tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61195173758342623452024-03-18T22:06:29.884-07:00SilburyIntroducing modern and antiquarian writings and images on Silbury. Examining conservation and other issues for this World Heritage SiteLittlestonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12230602842890742843noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6119517375834262345.post-83539720733048097372012-05-28T06:31:00.000-07:002012-05-28T06:31:02.734-07:00Julian Richards to lead series of walks around the World Heritage site of Avebury<div style="text-align: justify;">
Lewis Cowen writing in the <strong>The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald</strong> today reports that -</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>TV archaeologist Julian Richards is to lead a series of walks around the World Heritage site of Avebury this summer and autumn. Dr Richards, who presented BBC’s Meet the Ancestors, is a noted expert on the archaeology of Avebury and Stonehenge and will be leading the Wessex Walks on Wednesday, June 6, Saturday, September 1, and Sunday, October 21. </em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>The Wessex Walks are part of a programme of study days running at museums, galleries and sites all over Britain throughout 2012.</em></div>
<br />
More <a href="http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/9730600.TV_archaeologist_Julian_Richards_to_lead_walks_around_Avebury/">here</a>.Littlestonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12230602842890742843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6119517375834262345.post-58069764338064233252011-11-04T11:34:00.001-07:002011-11-04T11:37:41.555-07:00Prehistoric Wiltshire: An Illustrated Guide and talk by Bob Clarke<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7fNQNYS_WkYwDPclcebP7ob_ghFsj8x7VdZVcNiICLah6Yg5TRSP7DkYloecS2kRACove40zWf-sQreJDjvOECV6I2tC_QgNH0-WC_kgf79uEszssrxGw3ABaC5e6mXBZgwHCuKSHKfD2/s1600/943126968691.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 282px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671211016115705778" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7fNQNYS_WkYwDPclcebP7ob_ghFsj8x7VdZVcNiICLah6Yg5TRSP7DkYloecS2kRACove40zWf-sQreJDjvOECV6I2tC_QgNH0-WC_kgf79uEszssrxGw3ABaC5e6mXBZgwHCuKSHKfD2/s400/943126968691.png" /></a><strong>Prehistoric Wiltshire</strong>: An Illustrated Guide by Bob Clarke. Foreword by Francis Pryor<br /><em></em></div><br /><div align="justify"><em>Wiltshire contains some of the most important archaeological sites in Britain and its Prehistoric remains range from the splendour of Stonehenge to the awesome Avebury stone circle, with Silbury Hill and the Kennet Long Barrow being other noted megalithic monuments in the county.<br /><br />Among these important sites are also found smaller, perhaps lesser known monuments to the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages, including the cursus barrow cemetery at Fargo Plantation and Woodhenge.<br /><br />Bob Clarke, author of numerous books on military archaeology and history, takes us on a tour of the prehistoric sites in this archaeologically rich county, using aerial photography and outstanding images, which accompany the informative text and diagrams.<br /></em><br />Amberley Publishing. ISBN 9781848688773. Paperback. 128 pages. b&w and colour illustrations throughout.<br /><br />Bob Clarke will also be talking about his book this Sunday (6 November) at the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/WiltshireHeritageMuseum">Wiltshire Heritage Museum</a>. The talk will be followed by a book signing.<br /><br />Venue: Sunday 6 November, 2:30 - 4:30. Entrance fee £3 which includes tea/coffee and cakes.</div>Littlestonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12230602842890742843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6119517375834262345.post-42769038225781607072011-06-01T03:32:00.000-07:002011-06-01T03:46:06.295-07:00The Marlborough Mound: Prehistoric origins confirmed!<div align="justify">Writing in The Guardian yesterday Maev Kennedy reports that -<br /><br />“For generations, it has been scrambled up with pride by students at Marlborough College. But the mysterious, pudding-shaped mound in the grounds of the Wiltshire public school now looks set to gain far wider acclaim as scientists have revealed it is a prehistoric monument of international importance. After thorough excavations, the Marlborough mound is now thought to be around 4,400 years old, making it roughly contemporary with the nearby, and far more renowned, Silbury Hill. The new evidence was described by one archeologist, an expert on ancient ritual sites in the area, as "an astonishing discovery. Both neolithic structures are likely to have been constructed over many generations.”<br /><br /><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR9Sb0rsLkVKxvDjdJwon7OxiRPa9YOVzINy5CLfs6t0sTq6MjI29Mr1MMoXQl7HHBwTkQ4zVbjL7u5_Rq9qh5r4GJxRKE3SvWcjLnKmmNixKs3cec0_MF6-k7NRDCluQYefzWvchnruBF/s1600/marlboro2.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 282px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613200169050388466" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR9Sb0rsLkVKxvDjdJwon7OxiRPa9YOVzINy5CLfs6t0sTq6MjI29Mr1MMoXQl7HHBwTkQ4zVbjL7u5_Rq9qh5r4GJxRKE3SvWcjLnKmmNixKs3cec0_MF6-k7NRDCluQYefzWvchnruBF/s400/marlboro2.jpg" /></a> <br /><div align="center">William Stukeley’s 1723 image of Marlborough “Mount”<br /><br /></div><br /><div align="justify">More <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/may/31/malborough-mound-wiltshire-silbury-neolithic">here</a> and <a href="http://heritageaction.wordpress.com/2011/05/31/the-marlborough-mound-prehistoric-origins-confirmed/">here</a>. </div>Littlestonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12230602842890742843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6119517375834262345.post-56329542690478534372011-03-03T07:42:00.000-08:002011-03-03T07:43:44.896-08:00On this day William Stukeley (1687-1765) died<div align="justify">“Stukeley was an English antiquary and one of the founders of field archaeology, who pioneered the investigation of Stonehenge.<br /><br />“William Stukeley was born at Holbeach in Lincolnshire, and studied medicine at Cambridge University. While still a student he began making topographical and architectural drawings as well as sketches of historical artefacts. He continued with this alongside his career as a doctor, and published the results of his travels around Britain in 'Itinerarium Curiosum' in 1724.”<br /><br />More here - <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/stukeley_william.shtml">http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/stukeley_william.shtml</a> </div>Littlestonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12230602842890742843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6119517375834262345.post-34296864240250220812011-01-09T10:39:00.000-08:002011-01-10T07:48:33.004-08:00A rude race of hunters...<div align="justify">“...I have ascertained that Silbury Hill was originally surrounded by a deep trench or moat. Also, that it was erected by a people, probably a rude race of hunters, so little advanced in civilisation that they were using flint implements a long time after the hill was built. This discovery places the date of the erection of Silbury Hill at a very early period, possibly many centuries before the arrival of the Romans in Britain.”<br /><br /><strong>From Recent Excavations at Silbury Hill</strong> by Alfred C Pass. Read to the Clifton Antiquarian Club on 15 December 1886. More here - </div><div align="justify"><a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&q=http://silburyhill.pagesperso-orange.fr/silbury-hill-archeology/Recent-excavations-at-Silbury-Hill.pdf&ct=ga&cad=CAcQARgAIAEoBDAAOABAnYqm6QRIAVgAYgJlbg&cd=9hUDtIABgWY&usg=AFQjCNFNaTHeQyCboLzwaNygOiBSLyAIUw">http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&q=http://silburyhill.pagesperso-orange.fr/silbury-hill-archeology/Recent-excavations-at-Silbury-Hill.pdf&ct=ga&cad=CAcQARgAIAEoBDAAOABAnYqm6QRIAVgAYgJlbg&cd=9hUDtIABgWY&usg=AFQjCNFNaTHeQyCboLzwaNygOiBSLyAIUw</a> </div>Littlestonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12230602842890742843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6119517375834262345.post-46213634180085228222010-10-27T02:24:00.000-07:002010-10-27T03:16:58.043-07:00David Attenborough's big dig<div align="justify">Quoting from a recent Guardian article, “Silbury Hill is as ancient and enigmatic as Stonehenge. David Attenborough tells Jonathan Jones why he set out to crack it.”*<br /><br />Crack it? An unfortunate use of the word ‘crack’ in this context (though perhaps an unwittingly accurate one). And as much as I like and respect David Attenborough, the 1960s tunnel into Silbury should categorically <em>never</em> have been dug; it contravenes just about every conservation (and possibly archaeological) rule in the book. The 'dig' was a shambles from start to finish, with little respect for the integrity (archaeological, structural or otherwise) of the monument. The televised dig was a 1960s archaeological equivalent of Big Brother voyeurism, only in this case it was Silbury that was in the firing line and about to suffer the worst attack on its structural integrity in over 4,000 years.<br /><br />Has anyone asked, for example, where all the 1960’s spoil from the Atkinson/BBC tunnel (an intrinsic part of the structure itself) was dumped? It’s gone, vanished, along with any archaeological evidence it may have contained. If stones from the Great Pyramid had been dug out and discarded in this way there would have been an international outcry. But not here. Silbury might not be as high, nor as old as the Pyramids, but treating it as it was treated by Atkinson and the BBC was cultural vandalism. Vandalism touched with egotism, and akin to scraping off a 13th century church mural in order to find out what a 12th century mural under it might look like. But that’s only part of the story; when Atkinson and the BBC crew left Silbury at the end of the 60s the tunnel was not even backfilled. Metal tunnel struts were never removed, just allowed to corrode, and all kinds of junk, including old car tyres, ended up in the monument’s interior. The whole project (if it can be called that) is hardly different to the barrow and tomb wreckers of slightly earlier centuries who had little more in mind than the possibility of finding buried treasure and didn’t care a jot for the structures they were damaging or, in some cases, totally destroying.<br /><br />For David Attenborough to argue that, ‘far from failing, TV's first live dig triggered an unlikely chain of events that recently led to the tunnel being reopened and re-examined, using modern techniques’ is surprisingly naive for a man of such distinction. Silbury very nearly collapsed at the beginning of this century; that collapse was partly due to rain seeping into the structure from the vertical shaft and weakening further the Atkinson/BBC tunnel. It’s a miracle the structure <em>did</em> survive (and is perhaps testimony to the genius of its builders that it did) but it now contains dozens of metal struts from the 1960’s ‘dig’ and hundreds of plastic sacks from English Heritage’s most recent ‘conservation’ project.<br /><br />In the 18th century William Stukeley witnessed the almost complete destruction of many of the stones that went up to make the nearby Avebury Henge; he writes of that destruction, “And this stupendous fabric, which for some thousands of years, had brav'd the continual assaults of weather, and by the nature of it, when left to itself, like the pyramids of Egypt, would have lasted as long as the globe, hath fallen a sacrifice to the wretched ignorance and avarice of a little village unluckily plac'd within it.”<br /><br />Likewise, if Silbury had been ‘left to itself’ it would not have come so perilously close to collapse, would not now be so riddled with hastily backfilled tunnels, a shaft and the detritus of recent ‘investigations’. And, if left to itself, it would, in time, undoubtedly have benefited from scientific and archaeological advances – advances which would almost certainly have given us an insight into its construction, use and meaning - without, it should be said, the use of the destructive and invasive ‘techniques’ which almost destroyed it.</div><br />* <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2010/oct/25/david-attenborough-silbury-hill-bbc">http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2010/oct/25/david-attenborough-silbury-hill-bbc</a>Littlestonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12230602842890742843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6119517375834262345.post-37832730043445395792010-10-26T05:19:00.000-07:002010-10-26T09:11:31.685-07:00Silbury Hill 'not always a hill'<div align="justify">In an interview* with Evan Davis this morning on Radio 4’s Today programme, Jim Leary makes (and repeats several times) the extraordinary statement that, “The received wisdom that we had when we went into the tunnel in 2007, was that the hill was constructed as a single construct...”</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />What! A single construct! I’m no expert but anyone with even a passing interest in Silbury knows it was constructed in at least three phases. Perhaps Leary means he was surprised at how <em>many</em> phases it was constructed in, but that isn’t the impression he gives here. He's certainly keen to push his book though (see below) and the interview concludes with Leary urging millions of Radio 4 listeners to go out and buy a copy...<br /><br />* <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9126000/9126720.stm">http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9126000/9126720.stm</a> </div>Littlestonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12230602842890742843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6119517375834262345.post-67782969331247726692010-10-25T00:28:00.000-07:002010-10-25T02:14:55.529-07:00Observations on The Story of Silbury Hill<div align="justify">Below are observations, and some background information, by Fachtna McAvoy (formerly an archaeologist with English Heritage) for readers of the book, <strong>The Story of Silbury Hill</strong>: written by Jim Leary and David Field. The views below are those of Fachtna McAvoy and do not necessarily represent the views of this blog.<br /><br />I was on the Board of the Silbury Hill Conservation Project since its inception and I managed and carried out archaeological excavation and recording at Silbury from 2000 until the 15th June 2007. This was the day that I was dismissed from the on-going conservation work and tunnel re-excavation and then replaced as ‘director of fieldwork’ by Jim Leary, hitherto a (relatively recently appointed) member of the project team. The manner of my removal and replacement was and remains controversial (described at <a href="http://sites.google.com/site/anotherstoryfromsilburyhill/">http://sites.google.com/site/anotherstoryfromsilburyhill/</a> ).<br /><br />In these circumstances, although I was kindly offered an opportunity to review this book here, I feel it would be more appropriate instead to simply make a few observations on the reporting of events during that part of the Conservation Project for which I had responsibility and have first-hand knowledge. There are a number of factual inconsistencies in the portrayal of these events in the book ie:<br /><br />1.<br /><br />‘…. while Jim Leary directed the excavations in 2007 and 2008.’ (page xii).<br /><br />The text quoted above gives the reader the impression that Jim Leary directed all of the excavations in 2007. This is incorrect as I directed the excavations at Silbury from 2000 onwards and in 2007 until the 15th June.<br /><br />2.<br /><br />‘For archaeologists specialising in prehistory, any trepidation at being lowered into the hole was tempered by sheer excitement at the thought of seeing the interior of one of Europe’s most important prehistoric monuments.’ (page 70).<br /><br />The text quoted above gives the reader the impression that archaeologists specialising in prehistory, like Mr Leary for example, were present at this very early stage in the project. This is an incorrect portrayal. I was one of the very few people who were lowered into the hole and none of us was a specialist in prehistory. On a slightly different tack the thing I found astonishing in this experience was not that the shaft was square but that people had been down the open shaft before us and had left offerings like tea-lights and a small model bull. I am surprised that the authors did not mention this to illustrate the compelling attraction of the monument. One of the things that I found most interesting was the evidence for differing stages in the construction of the mound which could be clearly seen in the walls of the shaft. Here distinctly differing types of mound deposits were separated by a white continuous band of crushed or trampled chalk.<br /><br />3.<br /><br />‘On Friday 11 May 2007, the large green door that had been closed nearly 40 years previously was opened.’ (page 90).<br /><br />The text quoted above gives the reader the impression that this was the first time that the tunnel door had been opened for nearly 40 years. This is incorrect and omits to mention that the tunnel door had been opened in the previous year (2006) by Skanska.<br /><br />4.<br /><br />‘…. it could be seen that the tunnel had been filled with pink, Type 1 roadstone.’ (page 91).<br /><br />The text quoted above reinforces the impression for the reader that this was the first time that this roadstone fill had been observed. This is incorrect. The fact that the tunnel had been filled with pink roadstone had been established in a partial re-exposure of the tunnel entrance by English Heritage in 2004.<br /><br />The above passages seem to me to reveal a willingness by their author (Mr Leary I believe) to re-write and misrepresent facts from even very recent history. I recognise that this view is based upon a limited set of observations but there is very little other material in the book which refers to matters of which I have first-hand knowledge. I was forbidden to visit Silbury during the engineering and archaeological work which took place from mid-June 2007 onwards.<br /><br />Fachtna McAvoy</div><div align="justify"><br />25 October 2010 </div>Littlestonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12230602842890742843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6119517375834262345.post-3159536618649614962010-09-05T00:40:00.000-07:002010-09-05T00:49:04.825-07:00Silbury from the south-east quadrant of the Avebury Henge<div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK_sVSBqK_bh1uDBaLLLRdMsLzvdC-ss7ekSoZm46mOQH6wMwY_LjwlD15EwqZrCM5yw2kaW5anvbar0k1gHIkFQ0ggSf8_BOfWg_-XBUKzB1nU_MzLdDGB_Hkf9D1o5HSF2LCugD-YQlx/s1600/DSCN0257+(2).JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513331461304426194" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK_sVSBqK_bh1uDBaLLLRdMsLzvdC-ss7ekSoZm46mOQH6wMwY_LjwlD15EwqZrCM5yw2kaW5anvbar0k1gHIkFQ0ggSf8_BOfWg_-XBUKzB1nU_MzLdDGB_Hkf9D1o5HSF2LCugD-YQlx/s400/DSCN0257+(2).JPG" /></a><br />A view of Silbury not possible all year due to crop growth. The monument can just be seen on the skyline between the stone on the left in the south-east quadrant of the Avebury Henge and the stone on the right in the south-west quadrant. If Silbury were originally higher it would have been more easily seen from this point in the circle. It might be argued however that Waden Hill was slightly higher in the Neolithic and is now somewhat reduced due to heavy ploughing. If Waden Hill was also wooded at that time that too would have cancelled out the view of the monument from within the circle.</div>Littlestonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12230602842890742843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6119517375834262345.post-37347582244324647032010-09-04T10:42:00.000-07:002010-09-04T10:47:24.857-07:00Rethinking Silbury<div align="justify">"One of the advantages of living on the edge of a World Heritage Site, is that you occasionally get to see the latest activity and research in action."<br /><br />An excellent (independent) report here -</div><div align="justify"><a href="http://thehword.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/rethinking-silbury/">http://thehword.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/rethinking-silbury/</a> on English Heritage's excavations at 'Later Silbury'. It rather puts to shame the sporadic, lack of detail, and <em>very</em> lack lustre 'reports' on the official EH team blog (see below).</div>Littlestonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12230602842890742843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6119517375834262345.post-8316989663001205502010-08-14T07:46:00.000-07:002010-08-15T12:07:25.799-07:00Memorabilia. Silbury Golden<div align="center"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 295px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505277795256827858" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPOj_BVl5BcOYZCT171_qxHwymiU1G2mXMRWkiZCBp_H0Rv2AqFsz1k_Zk_0QxB2TnHrYEc47r07jczlHq6J8LHksgXJk2y42Znl98IkIcV2jQoMhKWg-NVanrBruNhzWqw0ir1_Yva9k-/s400/DSCN0220.JPG" /><br />Silbury Golden. An organic beer once brewed by Ushers of Trowbridge</div><div align="justify"><br />Perhaps not quite a piece of memorabilia but certainly a very memorable drink. Silbury Golden was an organic bitter brewed at the end of the 20th century by Ushers Brewery of Trowbridge, Wiltshire (the brewery closed in 2000). Sold in bottles of 500ml with an alc of 4.5% and a UKS Organic Certificate, the bitter was brewed from an Ushers' recipe which used, "...organically grown malt and hops to create a golden beer with a delicate hop aroma, refreshing light bitterness and clean crisp finish." The label on the back of the bottle goes on to read, "A mystery amidst the fertile plains of Wiltshire, Silbury Hill is the largest man-made mound in Europe. Started in 2660BC, it rises to 130 feet and covers 5 acres. It's purpose has been lost over the ages; one theory suggests it was a solar observatory, and another links it with "Lammas" (Harvest Festival) as the mound becomes most visible when nearby grain crops have been gathered."</div>Littlestonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12230602842890742843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6119517375834262345.post-57727525093627600422010-08-11T02:20:00.000-07:002013-08-13T03:54:30.183-07:00The Romans at Silbury<div align="center">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-rDDmYtO-BUuM0_rE72_geQBiO9dxneHuoqoEC0wm30pWc2rF4glVvTHVugmqN9ENOWwvSrm_n69aBFYr1E7WrtB2mFUA-jKnxnDrEHMF3qzeOeKNOS0tanHpSHdwu5ev8BcTzwL2Im39/s1600/DSCN0233.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509672497880361906" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-rDDmYtO-BUuM0_rE72_geQBiO9dxneHuoqoEC0wm30pWc2rF4glVvTHVugmqN9ENOWwvSrm_n69aBFYr1E7WrtB2mFUA-jKnxnDrEHMF3qzeOeKNOS0tanHpSHdwu5ev8BcTzwL2Im39/s400/DSCN0233.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 300px;" /></a><br />
<div align="center">
</div>
One of two trenches in the water meadows below Silbury</div>
<div align="center">
</div>
<div align="center">
<div align="center">
</div>
<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq0RgFv8FRCsXqei7Ux4dM5gprwD8tDblHcNigs8UF0x7W3XWi29Fqy58zwexQNidtBISFUllg77b5jj6I2GQSbpovCaPwvsU6A8gW8ZopXxhtDcO9sTJrwmuvDJBgnI_hRjtoJlzgP5qn/s1600/DSCN0226.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505956674159535794" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq0RgFv8FRCsXqei7Ux4dM5gprwD8tDblHcNigs8UF0x7W3XWi29Fqy58zwexQNidtBISFUllg77b5jj6I2GQSbpovCaPwvsU6A8gW8ZopXxhtDcO9sTJrwmuvDJBgnI_hRjtoJlzgP5qn/s400/DSCN0226.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 290px;" /></a><br />
Fragment of a Roman brooch?<br />
<div align="justify">
<br />
Unconnected with the ungoing English Heritage excavations at Silbury, this fragment (possibly of a Roman brooch) is from the West Kennet Long Barrow area. Compare this fragment with the two Roman brooches from Beckhampton Down (Merewether 1851) illustrated on pp153 of Pollard and Reynolds' <strong>Avebury</strong>: <em>The biography of a landscape.</em></div>
<div align="justify">
<em><br /></em></div>
</div>
</div>
<br />
More here - <a href="http://latersilbury.wordpress.com/">http://latersilbury.wordpress.com/</a> and here -<br />
<a href="http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/professional/research/archaeology/silbury/roman-period/">http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/professional/research/archaeology/silbury/roman-period/</a>Littlestonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12230602842890742843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6119517375834262345.post-71089098151785587552010-08-09T01:11:00.000-07:002010-08-26T04:24:34.089-07:00Field trip to the archaeological excavation near the Monument<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK5yOnGtXWJN22zcgWMNTpxbI8sjswC7laWF2OQMOiMiIijoi95qh7ZlfbksDkRVifuTPcrQHZmjG6PgHteiKmI5fw5IrYoqo2tdaztNp4110JenpMhR2dkHdb-Xaj8aCx5ad3S4n23ALp/s1600/DSCN0230.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509677428552043042" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK5yOnGtXWJN22zcgWMNTpxbI8sjswC7laWF2OQMOiMiIijoi95qh7ZlfbksDkRVifuTPcrQHZmjG6PgHteiKmI5fw5IrYoqo2tdaztNp4110JenpMhR2dkHdb-Xaj8aCx5ad3S4n23ALp/s400/DSCN0230.JPG" /></a><br />Trenches in the arable field opposite Silbury<br /><br /><div align="justify">Field trip to the English Heritage archaeological excavation near Silbury Hill, Wiltshire and the Alexander Keiller Museum, Avebury.<br /><br />Wednesday 1 September 2010.<br />10.30am – 4pm.</div><br /><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">"The Icon Archaeological Group field trip will be visiting a research excavation being undertaken by the Archaeological Projects team at English Heritage. The excavation is evaluation the recently revealed Romano-British settlement located in the fields surrounding Silbury Hill. The day will include a guided tour of the excavation by the project manager as well as the opportunity to hear about the recent Silbury Hill conservation project.<br /><br />"In the afternoon the field trip will move on to the site of Avebury and a guided tour of the Alexander Keiller Museum.<br /><br />"A buffet lunch will be provided at the Red Lion Pub, Avebury. "<br /><br />More here – </div><br /><div align="justify"><a href="http://www.icon.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1284&Itemid=16">http://www.icon.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1284&Itemid=16</a></div></div>Littlestonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12230602842890742843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6119517375834262345.post-2153336389987630232010-08-08T03:20:00.000-07:002010-08-08T04:41:52.727-07:00Resolving the Enigma. The reviewer is reviewed<div align="justify">In the latest edition the CBA British Archaeology magazine, Jim Leary begins his ’review’ of Michael Dames’ book, <strong>Silbury: Resolving the Enigma</strong> (see below) with the rather dismissive statement that, “Let us first be very clear: despite the words “English Heritage” in the opening line on the back cover, this book has nothing whatsoever to do with the recent English Heritage project at Silbury Hill.”<br /><br />I’m sure it doesn’t, and I’m sure Michael Dames would be the last to claim that it does. Leary however goes on to complain that, throughout the book, “…Dames portrays archaeologists as feckless academics, over-reliant on science and closed to the outside world.” Ehm… yes… that does sound about right with regard to much of the ’archaeological’ activity at Silbury over recent decades. Leary however rants on and then concludes (without actually having reviewed the book at all) with the somewhat condescending statement that, “This well-written but ultimately frustrating book would have benefited greatly from a little communication with archaeologists. Perhaps then it would not have been so full of factual errors.” Hmm… we look forward to reviewing <em>your</em> book, Jim, when it’s published later this year; no doubt it will be free of any factual errors and will shown that you (and English Heritage) have fully communicated with conservators (and others) on the optimum methods and materials needed to ensure the future stability of Silbury, and have also taken on board the advice offered to you by such professionals (as well as the concerns of those in the pagan community).<br /><br />It is not our role to promote current archaeological theories, nor the alternative theories of those outside the archaeological establishment. Perhaps, however, a little more communication from English Heritage archaeologists with other concerned bodies and individuals, and a little less self-aggrandisement of some individual archaeologists, would not go amiss. If a luminary like Professor Ronald Hutton of Bristol University can write of Dames’ latest book that, “This is a colourful, readable and fascinating personal reinterpretation of a unique monument. As a set of hypotheses it is credible, and as a piece of literature it is a joy. Michael Dames knows and loves our land itself at least as well as anybody else alive.” we can surely expect the same degree of magnanimity (and diversity of perspective) from those public servants whose wages we pay.<br /><br />Silbury: Resolving the Enigma by Michael Dames is published by The History Press Ltd. Paperback: 192 pages.<br />ISBN-10: 0752454501. ISBN-13: 978-0752454504.</div>Littlestonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12230602842890742843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6119517375834262345.post-75171125999931243632010-08-01T10:46:00.000-07:002010-08-01T10:57:13.936-07:00English Heritage on their consolidation project at Silbury<div align="justify">English Heritage has released four films (the first three produced in 2007) on Silbury under its Conservation Projects banner. Some footage, but not all, has previously been shown.*<br /><br />The first film, entitled <strong>Silbury Hill: The Conservation Project Begins</strong>, is narrated by Julian Richards and shows the temporary capping, with polystyrene blocks, of the shaft dug by the Duke of Northumberland in 1776. Fachtna McAvoy, who managed the archaeological element of the English Heritage Silbury Conservation Project between 2000 and September 2007, shows core samples from the ground level of the Monument when it was first built some 4,400 years ago. Also shown is the Atkinson/BBC tunnel door being opened for the first time since it was sealed in 1969. Strangely, the spoil that was seen spilling out of the tunnel in an earlier version of the film, is not visible in this version.**<br /><br />The second film, <strong>A Walk through the Tunnel</strong>, shows Jim Leary, Fieldwork Director of the project for English Heritage, talking about, “…a few of the discoveries made inside the tunnel.” The film concludes with a, “…walk along the main tunnel from its start at the surface of Silbury three to its end at the central core of Silbury one”. Note how the number of small boulders on the tunnel floor increase towards the central core.<br /><br />The third film, <strong>Collapse and Discoveries</strong>, shows engineers led by Mark Kirkbride (Project Manager from Skanska) discussing problems, and some of the archaeology revealed by a collapse inside Silbury, with Amanda Chadburn from English Heritage. Chadburn’s statement with regard to a collapse that, “If we just leave this it will eventually migrate up to the surface we’ll end up with Silbury with a kind of little valley or something [gestures]… which is not good…” is a little understated to say the least.<br /><br />The fourth film, <strong>Filling the Silbury Hill Tunnel</strong>, begins with the somewhat premature claim that, “…the Hill has been stabilised and the future of this important monument assured.” Note there is no mention of the sensors still monitoring the interior, nor the possible deleterious effect foreign bodies in the form of iron arches and plastic sacking within the Monument might have on it. In the film English Heritage also glosses over their idea for a time capsule by saying, “During the project English Heritage involved local schools in a number of projects…” One such project was, in fact, for a time capsule containing, among other things, items made by local schoolchildren which would have then been placed within the Monument. The idea was opposed by Lord Avebury (owner of Silbury), by Heritage Action and by others and was eventually abandoned. The film opens with a pagan ceremony followed by Mark Kirkbride and Jim Leary describing the final days of engineering and archeological work at Silbury. The film concludes with an advertisement for Jim Leary and David Field’s forthcoming book (foreword by David Attenborough***) <strong>The Story of Silbury Hill</strong>.<br /><br />Putting aside the slow release of the films, together and in this format, the lack of detail contained within them, and what looks like a sleight of hand re: the editing out of the opening of the Atkinson/BBC tunnel door; not to mention the somewhat premature claim that, “…the Hill has been stabilised and the future of this important monument assured.” there is much food for thought contained within all four films and especially the last one where it is revealed that various stages of the construction of Silbury are far more complex than hitherto thought.<br /><br />After watching the films I am yet again struck by the beauty and sheer complexity of Silbury, both as a structure and as a monument (I wish English Heritage would stop calling it a hill) and deeply saddened by all it has suffered in recent times. Let’s hope that English Heritage’s claim that, “…the Hill has been stabilised…” holds true.<br /><br /><br />* Films here -</div><div align="justify"><a href="http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/about/multimedia-library/conservation-projects/">http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/about/multimedia-library/conservation-projects/</a><br /><br />** Seen here -</div><div align="justify"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxkXdK2hcs4">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxkXdK2hcs4</a> (04:40 minutes in). It’s difficult to reconcile that footage with what seems to be a ‘cleaned up’ version of the opening here -</div><div align="justify"> <a href="http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/about/multimedia-library/conservation-projects/">http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/about/multimedia-library/conservation-projects/</a> (<strong>Holes in The Hill: The Conservation Project Begins</strong>. 03:00 minutes in). Perhaps English Heritage would like to explain the difference?<br /><br />*** David Attenborough was Controller of BBC2 when the <strong>Silbury Dig</strong> programme was filmed for the channel in 1968 and 1969. <strong>Silbury Dig</strong> was one of several programmes in BBC2′s Chronicle series. It seems the young, and perhaps overly enthusiastic, controller invited Richard Atkinson to tunnel into Silbury and ‘reveal its mysteries’ to the nation on television. Let’s hope that David Attenborough uses the forward to this book to state clearly that the Silbury Dig programme should never have been made, that it was a shambles from beginning to end (the tunnel was not even backfilled after Atkinson and the television crews left) and that it went against the accepted conservation (and probably archaeological) standards of the time.</div>Littlestonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12230602842890742843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6119517375834262345.post-83053691883348731502010-07-06T13:56:00.000-07:002010-07-06T14:02:23.086-07:00Silbury Films<div align="justify"><strong>Silbury Dig: The Heart of the Mound.</strong></div><div align="justify"><br />BBC 2 Chronicle Series.<br />First Broadcast 27 July 1968.<br />Duration 39 minutes 12 seconds.<br /><br />"Silbury is one of the largest prehistoric earthworks in Europe, possibly dating to 2400BC. In this programme, originally broadcast live, Magnus Magnusson meets the archaeologists who have uncovered a tunnel that leads into the heart of the mound."<br /><br /></div><div align="justify"><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/chronicle/8607.shtml">http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/chronicle/8607.shtml</a><br /><br /><strong>Silbury Hill falling down.</strong></div><div align="justify"><br />Channel 4 News. 24 Oct 2007.<br />Duration 4 minutes 31 seconds.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.channel4.com/player/v2/player.jsp?showId=9817">http://www.channel4.com/player/v2/player.jsp?showId=9817</a><br /><br />Th<strong>e Hill with a Hole (or The Silbury Hill Conservation Project).</strong></div><div align="justify"><br />English Heritage. 10 June 2010.<br />Duration 9 minutes 5 seconds.</div><div align="justify"><br />"A film produced by Chris Corden Productions for English Heritage that includes work taking place within the re-opened 1849/1968/69 tunnels at Silbury Hill."<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxkXdK2hcs4">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxkXdK2hcs4</a><br /><br />See also -<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVxKI0bKdk4">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVxKI0bKdk4</a></div>Littlestonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12230602842890742843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6119517375834262345.post-38307405163724728812010-07-02T22:51:00.000-07:002010-07-04T09:02:06.898-07:00Book reviews. Silbury: Resolving the Enigma by Michael Dames<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz5vXCk2hs0JTCEbKt7XDAiGnbXzr6tdAiG_e9FMrKR6IPG4n047mO5IsGp7x5frUtWSyNCEbqFXaaIzzRFplW53uCKMbP2x6Zp_e7zbQnPeYDsDb8IhSLOOBQu7rCNM-Wn1YPdf0KLmwS/s1600/517WLvnM--L__SS500__crop_crop_crop.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 274px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489561888860497634" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz5vXCk2hs0JTCEbKt7XDAiGnbXzr6tdAiG_e9FMrKR6IPG4n047mO5IsGp7x5frUtWSyNCEbqFXaaIzzRFplW53uCKMbP2x6Zp_e7zbQnPeYDsDb8IhSLOOBQu7rCNM-Wn1YPdf0KLmwS/s400/517WLvnM--L__SS500__crop_crop_crop.jpg" /></a><br /><div align="justify">"This is a colourful, readable and fascinating personal reinterpretation of a unique monument. As a set of hypotheses it is credible, and as a piece of literature it is a joy. Michael Dames knows and loves our land itself at least as well as anybody else alive."<br /><br />Professor Ronald Hutton, Bristol University.<br /><br />Published by The History Press Ltd. Paperback:192 pages.<br />ISBN-10: 0752454501. ISBN-13: 978-0752454504.</div>Littlestonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12230602842890742843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6119517375834262345.post-15549995391469811482010-02-01T03:22:00.000-08:002010-02-01T03:28:51.360-08:00Silbury Hill - new find in the archive!<div align="justify">"New information has emerged from letters written in 1776 about excavations at Silbury Hill and published for the first time in the new volume of the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"> <br />"Local historian, Brian Edwards tracked down two letters, written in 1776 by Edward Drax to his friend, Lord Rivers, about excavations at Silbury Hill. Edward Drax from Bath , had hired a team of miners from the Mendips to dig a shaft from the top of Silbury Hill, to the centre of the hill, 125 feet below.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"> <br />"The letters record that at first, the miners found little but large chalk blocks and deer antler. However, at 95 feet, some 30 feet above they expected the base of the mound to be, the miners discovered what Drax records as a 'perpendicular cavity' that was 6 inches across, and that 'we have already followed it already about 20 feet, we can plumb it about Eleven feet more'. He says that ‘something now perished must have remained in this hole to keep it open’."</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />More here - <a href="http://wiltshireheritagemuseum.blogspot.com/2010/02/silbury-hill-new-find-in-archive.html">http://wiltshireheritagemuseum.blogspot.com/2010/02/silbury-hill-new-find-in-archive.html</a></div>Littlestonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12230602842890742843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6119517375834262345.post-16371954277435470612010-01-21T07:29:00.000-08:002010-01-21T07:31:41.524-08:00Silbury Dig: The Heart of the Mound<div align="justify"><br />BBC2's <strong>Chronicle</strong> series "...filmed excavations at the Silbury Mound from 1968 to 1970, one of the largest operations mounted by the programme. This 1968 dig was not, however, the first attempt to uncover the secrets of Silbury Hill. The Duke of Northumberland sank a shaft into the mound in 1777. A tunnel was dug in 1849, while in 1922, Sir William Flinders Petrie cut a large trench into the base of the mound. This trench was reopened and re-examined as part of the 'Chronicle' series in 1969."</div><div align="justify"><br /> </div><div align="justify">More here - <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/chronicle/8607.shtml">http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/chronicle/8607.shtml</a></div>Littlestonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12230602842890742843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6119517375834262345.post-63855675017181968672010-01-01T07:48:00.001-08:002010-01-01T07:52:34.715-08:00Silbury in Wintertime. Image credit Bozzer<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyNwf5eF-RztvtS5COCK2sgbzY7FewMj9V4bFRSVUBXYMyC0Vy1cygv0WsG2L9lMIj2Ah5DfrZPrAVNOxKUAsnXYNjHXI02efudcrC4dhkibJI9U25jyekout88UK7lAjJT4qCqmjlmnCI/s1600-h/snowy%2520008.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421799173732242098" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyNwf5eF-RztvtS5COCK2sgbzY7FewMj9V4bFRSVUBXYMyC0Vy1cygv0WsG2L9lMIj2Ah5DfrZPrAVNOxKUAsnXYNjHXI02efudcrC4dhkibJI9U25jyekout88UK7lAjJT4qCqmjlmnCI/s400/snowy%2520008.jpg" /></a>Littlestonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12230602842890742843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6119517375834262345.post-25055570062132661442010-01-01T07:38:00.000-08:002010-01-01T07:45:35.786-08:00Silbury and New Beginnings<div align="justify">William Morris once wrote of a visit he took to Avebury one summer afternoon. He was a schoolboy at Marlborough College, and would cycle out on his afternoons off to visit the stones and have a drink at the Red Lion Inn. In a letter written to his sister he describes wading through the water meadows around Silbury before he climbed to the top, and finding a snail shell which he kept. The water meadows have long gone, though maybe they will be returned soon to the fields round this great mound leaving the grass full of the flowers of summer.</div><div align="justify"><br />Water is such an important part of our lives, it has a somewhat mystical aura as to its magical properties as well in history, its glassy surface reflecting back a mirror image, and there is evidence to suggest that the ditch round Silbury when filled with water could have been a part of the ritual ceremony bronze age people would have taken part in, progressing across a causeway to the sacred mound. The Winterbourne running beneath Waden Hill which turns with such abruptness at the Swallowhead Spring to become the Kennet River reminds us that springs have also been sacred as well. The Roman settlement discovered so recently in the water meadows, may also have come into being because Silbury had carried its sacred powers through time from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age, several Roman wells have also been discovered round the base of Silbury.</div><div align="justify"><br />Suddenly we are leaving the archaeological world behind and stepping into the natural world, where water flows, plants grow and people move about in the landscape busy at their chores. The first phase of Silbury brings us a sharp reminder of what plants existed at the time, the soil and turves heaped on the first mound have preserved the minute details of leaves, seeds and insects, here we find all the plants of a mixed ecology.<br />So what has this to do with saving heritage? History is most often the recorder of destruction, archaeology even more so, yet when there is something tangible to explore and preserve people take a lot of time and trouble to do just that. Silbury after the calamitous hole that appeared at the top of the mound has now been restored, it is once more whole in its outside appearance, the inner voids and tunnel also being filled. The scars have slowly healed and we can be grateful for that.</div><div align="justify"><br />Yet we still often see the various monuments round the Avebury landscape as single units, isolated in their layers of history, we forget that Silbury once towered above a busy Roman settlement, the soldiers clattering past on the road that went to Aqua Sulis, or stopping for a rest, or maybe standing quietly beside the spring to contemplate the world of the gods. There is evidence of Saxon and Viking also on the mound, a fortified settlement, or perhaps a ‘Christian footprint’ of disapproval on this pagan relic – who knows… then there are the fairs and festivals of the medieval period when people celebrated the special festive days of the year; bull baiting is recorded in the 18th century, when between 4000 and 5000 people sat at the foot of Silbury and on a facing eminence… where there was also wrestling, bowling and dancing (The Gloucester Journal – 9th November 1736), and bonfires were lit and the poor bulls having met their demise were roasted and imbibed with ale on the following two days!</div><div align="justify"><br />So let’s celebrate our heritage, that rich tapestry of history from the past, welcome in the New Year with a promise that we will protect this serendipitous cauldron of myth, history and archaeology; welcome the new pagans who once more come to dance at the stones of Avebury; the archaeologists who write, and then write once more, their varied interpretations of prehistory; even the crop circle makers who cleverly decorate the fields of wheat on the Marlborough downs, though I doubt the farmers are in the same mind; and finally in a wider sweep let’s celebrate the people who through extraordinary devotion and energy seek out all those prehistoric stones in the British Isles and abroad to add to our knowledge in the form of a gazetteer on <strong>The Modern Antiquarian</strong>, <strong>The Megalithic Portal</strong> and other sites – there is in the end more gain than loss…</div><div align="justify"><br /><em>Feature by Moss, <strong>Heritage Action</strong> member. This feature first appeared on the <strong>Heritage Action Journal</strong> -</em></div><div align="justify"><em><a href="http://heritageaction.wordpress.com/2010/01/01/silbury-and-new-beginnings-2/">http://heritageaction.wordpress.com/2010/01/01/silbury-and-new-beginnings-2/</a> and is republished here with the author's kind permission.</em></div>Littlestonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12230602842890742843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6119517375834262345.post-90155901332576618142009-12-05T07:50:00.000-08:002009-12-24T09:05:26.489-08:00Lectures. Silbury Hill: the Archaeology of a Monumental Mound<div align="justify"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 301px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411780537845263922" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOL0AvM9Cwz2KvonIlUOUQsyvEuHBthcE52xH-vzVMrfftckrtO9MXidbwI2uxX3yEy9DYFL8WnfKbSoSpKO2P_fXYzpTXa3mpEmYcFMUVcvBUxWK5vAec_bmhKr9Bqx5CBrpm3fDEdrTM/s400/HPIM0256.JPG" /><br />An illustrated lecture by Jim Leary, the English Heritage archaeologist responsible for the recent survey on Silbury Hill, will be held at the Wiltshire Heritage Museum from 2:30pm on Saturday, 23 January 2010.</div><div align="justify"><br /></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">"In 2007-08 English Heritage undertook major works to stabilize Silbury Hill, parts of which were collapsing due the effects of the several tunnels and shafts which had been dug in to the hill over the last 200 years, particularly the large tunnel dug by R J Atkinson in conjunction with the BBC in the 1960s, and which were never backfilled. Before the tunnels were filled with chalk to prevent further erosion, the opportunity was taken to make an archaeological record of the inside of the hill."</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />More here -<br /></div><div align="justify"><a href="http://www.wiltshireheritage.org.uk/events/index.php?Action=2&thID=467&prev=1">http://www.wiltshireheritage.org.uk/events/index.php?Action=2&thID=467&prev=1</a></div><div align="justify"><br /></div><div align="justify"></div>Littlestonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12230602842890742843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6119517375834262345.post-13555472330980723422009-09-27T02:06:00.000-07:002009-09-27T02:09:46.708-07:00Reviews. Diary of a Dean: John Merewether<div align="center"> </div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.wiltshireheritage.org.uk/library/" jquery1254042105593="4">Wiltshire Heritage Museum’s Book of the Month </a>is -<br /><br /><strong>Diary of a Dean</strong><br /><br />Being an account of the<br />EXAMINATION OF SILBURY HILL<br />and of<br />VARIOUS BARROWS AND OTHER EARTHWORKS ON THE DOWNS OF NORTH WILTS<br /><br />Opened and Investigated in the Months of July & August 1849<br /><br />By Dean John Merewether<br /><br />With illustrations<br /><br />An online edition of the book is <a href="http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ILcHAAAAQAAJ&dq=silbury%20hill%20merewether&pg=PA3&output=embed" jquery1254042105593="6">here</a> </div>Littlestonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12230602842890742843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6119517375834262345.post-90328282430049354872009-09-14T11:04:00.000-07:002009-09-14T11:18:14.559-07:00Reviews. Prehistoric Geometry in Britain by Tom Brooks<div align="justify">A DVD (and CD) in which Tom Brooks suggests, in his <strong>Prehistoric Geometry in Britain</strong>, that, "...prehistoric man navigated his way across England using a crude version of 'sat nav' based on stone circle markers; they (prehistoric man) were able to travel between settlements with pinpoint accuracy thanks to a complex network of hilltop monuments. New research suggests that they were built on a connecting grid of isosceles triangles that 'point' to the next site. Many are 100 miles or more away, but GPS co-ordinates show all are accurate to within 100 metres. This provided a simple way for ancient Britons to navigate successfully from A to B without the need for maps."*</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Brooks' research, "...based upon the true position of each unit relative to all others according to the Ordnance Survey National Grid, reveals that all are related geometrically by isosceles triangles (having two sides equal) and projected alignments of remarkable accuracy over great distances. Further, such isosceles triangulation was directed from and focused upon a single, central feature more than 5,000 years old - Silbury Hill on the Marlborough Downs in Wiltshire."**</div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">*<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1213400/Ancient-man-used-stone-sat-nav-navigate-country.html#ixzz0R6gQT2Tr">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1213400/Ancient-man-used-stone-sat-nav-navigate-country.html#ixzz0R6gQT2Tr</a></div><div align="justify">**<a href="http://www.prehistoric-geometry.co.uk/index.html">http://www.prehistoric-geometry.co.uk/index.html</a></div>Littlestonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12230602842890742843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6119517375834262345.post-29170853867446160412009-08-30T03:37:00.000-07:002010-12-12T10:46:49.553-08:00Silbury Air<div align="justify">Silbury Air by Harrison Paul Birtwistle (1934-) is a composition for chamber ensemble. The piece was written in 1977 and revised in 2003. The premiere was given at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on 9th March 1977 and the piece performed again at this year's Proms at the Royal Albert Hall.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><br />Part 1 here - <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pnllf6XVhJI">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pnllf6XVhJI</a><br />Part 2 here - <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2XRMuvisCo&feature=related">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2XRMuvisCo&feature=related</a>Littlestonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12230602842890742843noreply@blogger.com