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| Silbury
Archive 2001 |
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 Silbury Hill news, views and archive brought to you by Weird Wiltshire Introduction Latest News News Archive Excavations The Hole Beaker People What is it for? What Next? Postcards Forum Wallpaper Links 
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First published on April 5, 2001 WORK is about to start to prevent Silbury Hill (the largest man-made mound in Europe) collapsing. The 4,700 year old structure, within sight of the great henge and stone circle at Avebury is believed to be caving in because of the wet winter. English Heritage spokeswoman, Amanda Chadburn, said: "It could be that what we have here is a sort of Swiss cheese, full of holes that cannot be seen from the outside and the danger is that the whole thing could implode." The 130ft hill is a favoured meeting place of Druids and pagans. Custodian English Heritage is inviting tenders for a seismic survey normally used in major engineering projects. It will involve covering the whole of the hill with a web of monitors linked to computers. The monitors will produce a three dimensional image of the hill, showing any tunnels or voids inside it. It will also reveal stress areas where new holes are most likely to appear. The engineering technology has never before been used to assess an archaeological site. The origin of the hill might also finally be revealed by the survey, which will show whether there is a burial chamber inside it. In the past, the hill has been linked to ancient Egypt, while some have suggested it is the resting place of the Ark of the Covenant. Ms Chadburn, English Heritage's ancient monuments inspector, said: "It is causing us concern. You and I might think that you could simply backfill the shaft and close the hole but our expert engineering advice is that this might just make the whole thing more unstable." Ms Chadburn said that she and her team had been climbing the hill regularly through the winter to record any movement. A decision is expected to be announced in May and Ms Chadburn said she would expect any work to start by July. A controlled excavation in the 1960s indicated that the hill was stable and the largest shaft had been filled. "I fear now that we took false comfort from that," said Ms Chadburn. Back to 2001 index |
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