The Story of Silbury Hill

by Jim Leary and David Field

A new book on Silbury Hill, from English Heritage, claims to be the most definitive survey of the ancient mound ever published, shaking up some long held assumptions about the construction and purpose of this mysterious structure, the largest prehistoric man-made feature in Europe.

New book claims Silbury Hill was Anglo-Saxon lookout

Foreword by Sir David Attenborough
Paperback, 224pp, with 100 colour and b&w illustrations.
Published by English Heritage, October 2010.
Featuring cover artwork by David Inshaw

English Heritage have just published a new book on Silbury Hill written by two experts armed with unrivalled information and knowledge from the latest excavations. Claiming to combine both scholarly research and readable narrative, this book sets out the archaeological story of Silbury.

Silbury Hill, near Avebury in Wiltshire, is the largest man-made prehistoric mound in Europe, acquired its distinctive shape in more modern times, according to new archaeological evidence detailed in this book. Similar in size to some of the smaller Egyptian pyramids, it is traditionally thought that Silbury Hill, with its steep banks and flat top, was conceived and completed in pre-historic times, but new research presented in this new book by English Heritage archaeologists Jim Leary and David Field suggests the final shape was a late Anglo-Saxon innovation.

Leary and Field's account sets out the archaeological story of Silbury, beginning with the early recognition of its importance to antiquarian and archaeological investigations of the hill.

The book contains much information from the latest surveys of the hill, including the 2007-2008 re-excavation of the tunnel first dug between 1968 and 1970 by the archaeologist Richard Atkinson. This was due in part to the emergence of a crater on the summit in 2000 owing to the collapse of an 18th Century shaft; Atkinson's tunnel being re-opened in an attempt to repair the mound and fill in this hole in Silbury's summit. However, the 2007-2008 works also resulted in a further minor collapse, although now all known tunnels through the structure have been filled in and the mound re-sealed.

For the first time the results of this recent work are set out in detail, describing early activity on the site, the origins of the monument and the construction techniques used. Here, the authors propose a new theory of the process of construction and thus an new way of interpreting Neolithic monuments.

Leary states that samples taken from the Atkinson tunnel suggest the hill was created not in three stages as previously suggested, but in 15 distinct phases over about 100 years involving some three generations between 2400 and 2300BC, claiming that the people who built it were not so much concerned with the final shape, but more with the ritual of building the structure.

Detailed analysis of the structure points to an ongoing process of ritual construction; archaeological evidence suggests chalk, stones, gravel and turf were consistently used to create textures and patterns, prompting the author's suggestion that the process of construction might have been a means by which peoples from across a much broader area came together. Soils found within the hill seem to come from different areas, and could have been brought to the site by various communities.

Silbury from West Kennet long barrow

The Story of Silbury Hill describes how the monument was seen and used by later communities; from the Roman small town that grew up around the hill - the inhabitants quite literally living in its shadow; to medieval buildings on the summit, suggesting the mound was adapted as a defensive position in the late Anglo-Saxon period.

The Neolithic banks of the hill underwent a certain degree of re-modelling during that period, with the top of Silbury being modified in the medieval period, probably around the year 1000. A massive post hole found on top of the hill during recent work is seen by the authors as evidence of an Anglo-Saxon look out post, with the suggestion that a wooden palisade crowned the summit during the period, with the interior housing either a small fort or a beacon; Leary suggests that the Saxons may have been protecting themselves from Viking incursions, with the hill standing next to a Roman road which invaders could have used.

The book includes reconstruction drawings to illustrate the authors' new interpretation of this iconic prehistoric monument. Finally, the book discusses what Silbury means to people today: its power and spirituality for locals, visitors, New Agers and Druids alike.

"A superb and authoritative work which communicates all the excitement of the quest to understand the mysteries of Silbury." - Barry Cunliffe

"This is the best book on Silbury to date, incorporating the results of all the recent investigations. It manages wonderfully to bring out both why the Hill matters to archaeologists and why it matters to everybody else." - Ronald Hutton

If this is the 'definitive survey' of Silbury Hill, let's trust that archaeologists can now refrain from digging further tunnels into this ancient mound before it finally collapses. Now the tunnels have been backfilled, hopefully the enigma of Silbury will remain.

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Ancient Earthwork found near route of Slane bypas

In March this year it was reported how the route of the proposed N2 Slane Bypass will skirt the three main prehistoric sites of the Brú na Bóinne Complex; Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth. [1]

There are at least 40 significant archaeological sites in and around the Bend in the Boyne valley, many of these ancient monuments maintain an association with Irish Mythology which has persisted since prehistory. Brú na Bóinne is a vast complex of Neolithic chamber tombs, standing stones, henges and other prehistoric enclosures, with over forty passage tombs and was built with sophistication and a knowledge of science and astronomy, the most well known occurring at Newgrange when light from the winter solstice sun enters the 60ft passage shortly after sunrise, reaching the orthostat at the end of the passage. Astronomical calculations have shown that when Newgrange was constructed some 5,000 years ago first light would have entered the passage exactly at sunrise.

Former Attorney General John Rogers, SC, commissioned an archaeological survey as part of his objection to an N2 bypass running east of Slane. The survey, carried out by archaeologists Joe Fenwick, Gerard Dowling and Roseanne Schot of the Brú na Bóinne Research Project, has found a previously unrecorded “impressively large earthwork”, believed to be part of the outer defences of an early medieval royal stronghold at Knowth. The findings have now been submitted to An Bórd Pleanála as additional information as part of its consideration of plans for the proposed bypass.

The earthwork was said to have been found at Crewbane, near the home of Mr Rogers, and prompted by the discovery in 2007 of a souterrain in Crewbane, at the perimiter of ther Brú na Bóinne UNESCO work heritage site 'buffer zone’ 2km east of Slane village and 1km from the prehistoric passage tomb of Knowth. The archaeologists said that “this impressively large earthwork” is not recorded in the Sites and Monuments Record for County Meath. [2]

Mr Fenwick suggested that the “only realistic option” for the traffic problem in Slane was to ban heavy goods vehicles entirely from the village and provide an east-west corridor to the north of Slane, to redirect this traffic towards “the new and under-utilised” M1 and M3 motorways.

Meanwhile, the Save Newgrange campaign has complained to An Bord Pleanala and the North-South Ministerial Council that the public consultation process for the bypass is in breach of the Belfast Agreement, because the consultation does not extend to Northern Ireland. They say that the road proposal is in breach of EU environmental law, which provides for trans-boundary consultation, where the project is of a trans-boundary nature. [3]

Proposed route of N2 Slane bypass

We await the outcome, but perhaps we should not be too optimistic as discovery of a souterrain at Lismullin in the Gabhra Valley, Co. Meath, was found to be within 7 metres of a slip road instead of the supposed 100 metres. The structure had not been excavated as it was not one of the sites initially listed as being impacted by the M3 motorway route through the Tara Skryne Valley.

The souterrain at Lismullin was the latest in a line of sites that came to light in the area after the initial surveys had been completed, with the geophysical survey failing to identify the huge site, including an ancient temple, a wood henge, that was declared a National Monument in May 2007. Soon afterwards the souterrain was discovered close to the henge and during excavation a huge decorated stone was uncovered bearing megalithic art that is very similar to that found at Newgrange and Knowth, which date to c.3000 BC, demonstrating the connection between Tara and the Gabhra Valley as the nearest example of megalithic art is to be found in the passage tomb of the Mound of the Hostages on the summit of the Hill of Tara. The stone had been split in ancient times to fit into the souterrain and the remaining section may lie somewhere else in this archaeological complex.

Following this destructive road building process through Ireland's historic landscape, campaigners are demanding that the bodies excavated now be buried with dignity.

Petition to Re-Inter Ancient Remains from M3 Construction
Tara Campaigners worldwide are supporting a petition to the Irish Government calling on them to re-inter the remains of individuals whose graves have been desecrated by the ongoing construction of the M3 Motorway in the Gabhra Valley near the historic Hill of Tara in Co. Meath, the putative site of the last battle of the Fianna in 284 AD and they were said to be buried where they fell along with Cairpre Lifechair king of Tara son of Cormac mac Airt.

The petition, which went went live on Saturday 19th July, calls for the remains of those whose graves were “desecrated” during excavations for the M3 motorway through the Tara Skryne Valley, to be re-interred, was handed in at Dáil Eireann on Monday, demanding that the remains removed from their ancient sacred burial grounds now be re-interred in a respectful and dignified manner as closely as possible to their original resting places and as closely as possible to their original ceremonial layout. This campaign has been given the backing of the World Archaeological Conference (WAC) held in Dublin in 2008, attended by over 1,800 archaeologists, native peoples and international scholars from 74 nations.

Construction of the M3 at Lismullin

The WAC said: “Recognising that the reburial of ancient remains in Ireland is subject to the provisions of the National Monuments Act and the agreement of the National Museum of Ireland, the World Archaeological Congress also draws attention to the Vermillion Accord on human remains and suggests that any human remains excavated from the cultural landscape of Tara should be re-interred with due respect as close as possible to their original locations, as this is where these people would have wished to be buried.”

It is estimated that between 60 to 90 remains were removed from Collierstown, the reputed burial site of the last battle of the Fianna. Over 27 were removed from Ardsallagh and many more were taken from individual sites along the route of the M3 motorway route. Over the last 15 years it is estimated that thousands of bodies have been removed and are now stored in warehouses.

M3 motorway through the Tara Skryne Valley

The organisers of the petition, Tomás Mac Cormaic and Carmel Diviney, thanked all supporters worldwide for adding to the call to put pressure on the Irish Government and the National Museum of Ireland to show due respect to Tara’s ancestral remains and said:

"We hope that this petition is the beginning of a debate on the ethics of this archaeological 'resolution' of our ancestors, the indigenous people of Ireland. This debate and respect for our own indigenous people, ourselves, is long overdue and that this puts added pressure on the Irish Govt. to re-inter the bodies".

“We hope that the thousands of other remains unearthed during construction works throughout the country, which are not being held for scientific research purposes, will likewise be given dignified and respectful reburial without delay,” they said. [4]

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Notes
1. “When 'Sacred' is no Longer 'Sacred',”
2. Survey finds ancient earthworks near Slane bypass route - The Meath Chronicle online 13 October 2010
3. Survey finds ancient earthworks near Slane bypass route. Vincent Salafia
4. Petition to Re-Inter Ancient M3 Remains - The Meath Chronicle online 10 November 2010

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