Kenneth Valley, Wiltshire, in the south of England, overlooks the mysterious Silbury Hill, the largest mound in Europe and one of the largest earthworks in the world.
It is located on ancient sacred lands near the modern village of Avebury and is part of a complex of Neolithic monuments - henge (flat areas of a rounded shape, fenced with boundary earth structures), stone circles, megalithic sanctuaries and tombs. Silbury Hill is quite impressive in size: 128 feet high, with a flat top 98 feet in cross section and a base diameter of 547 feet.
From the huge 125-foot-wide ditch around Silbury, materials were once taken from which the mound was made. The amount of chalk and soil consumed is staggering - 8,756,880 cubic feet. It was estimated that for the erection of the mound, 1500-2000 people were required if the work was carried out during the year, 300-400 people if they lasted more than 5 years, and 60-80 people, provided that the work was carried out for more than 25 years.
Overall, it would take 4-6 million working hours, although some researchers say more than 18 million hours. The huge British earthen structure is often compared to the Egyptian pyramids. According to recent radiocarbon dating of antler fragments, Silbury was completed between 2490 BC. e. and 2340 BC e. But for what purpose was this large-scale construction organized with the involvement of a considerable labor force?
At present, there is no consensus among archaeologists regarding the number of stages in the construction of the huge Silbury mound, but it has been established that its creators used tools made of stone, bone, wood and horn. Richard Atkinson, who excavated the mound in the late 60s of the 20th century, put forward a hypothesis about three stages of its creation. The first stage, in his opinion, dates from about 2700 BC. e.
The part of the earthen structure created during these years - Silbury I - was a mound of gravel with alternating layers of chalk and sod, about 18 feet high and 115 feet in cross section. Atkinson believed that the construction of Silbury II began 200 years later: it was poured over Silbury I. The earthen structure was now 66 feet high and had a diameter of about 246 feet at the base. The last stage in the erection of the mound was Silbury III.
In fact, this is an earthen hill that has survived to this day. Atkinson believed that Silbury III had a tiered structure and consisted of a series of chalk layers, with only the top two now visible to the naked eye. The steps leading to the top are inclined inward at an angle of 60 °, which provides additional stability to the structure.
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The layers were filled with earth, probably from a ditch at the base of the mound. Atkinson's theory of three stages is contradicted by information recently obtained during the examination of some fragments of Silbury - the mound was most likely created in one stage. However, only a complete survey of the entire monument will help solve this problem.
Driven by the desire to uncover the mystery of the Silbury Hill Barrow, researchers have been excavating the site. Three of them are the most significant. In 1776 the Duke of Northumberland hired a group of Cornish miners to dig a passage from the summit into the mound, but the expedition found nothing of note. Since the workers did not dig the mine thoroughly at the end of the work, in 2000 the top of the mound partially collapsed.
In 1849, antiquarian Dean Mirwezer decided to dig a tunnel from the side of the hill to its center, but this did not shed light on the mystery of the Silbury mound. From 1968 to 1970, the excavation was carried out by Professor Richard Atkinson with financial support from the BBC broadcaster - and this is the most comprehensive study of the mound to date. One of the three trenches dug by Atkinson's team continued the Mirweather Tunnel. However, this time too, no sensational findings were made.
Nevertheless, based on the work done, the professor put forward a theory about the way to create the mound. In addition, important information regarding the environment was obtained. Remains of winged ants were found in one of the turf layers, and this fact led to the conclusion that construction began in August. Some researchers associate the time when construction began with the Celtic harvest festival Lugnasad, or Lammas. So, despite the fact that Silbury was built 2000 years before the advent of Celtic culture, it is one of its monuments in Britain.
Archaeologists have not yet been able to explain the purpose of the Silbury Hill mound, although for 300 years the question has not lacked theories. According to researchers of the 18th - 19th centuries, the earthen hill was the burial place of the ancient British king. Indeed, in local folklore, you can find a mention that the hill was the resting place of the unknown king Sila (Zela) and that a full-length statue of Sila on a golden horse is kept here.
Another legend tells of how the devil devastated a huge trench filled with earth in the nearby city of Marlborough, but the magical power of the Avebury priests forced him to dump the land in Silbury. However, tradition usually contains only a grain of truth. No human remains have been found during excavations on the hill. Although it should be admitted that not all of the structure has been explored yet.
According to other theories, the flat top of Silbury was used by the Druids as a site for sacrifices or was a temple of Mercury, a giant clock, an astronomical observatory, a symbol of the Mother of God, a source of energy for aliens, a place for meetings and for judging. Indeed, many people gathered at the top of the Silbury mound at one time, but this was in the 18th century, when a fair was held here.
The ritual purpose of the massive earthen structure is evidenced by only one of its features - a spiral path leading to the top. The new theory (based on a 3D seismic survey carried out in 2001) refutes Richard Atkinson's hypothesis of a layer-by-layer method of creating the mound, claiming the existence of spiral ridges, which appear to have two functions.
Images in the fields are often found near the mound.
Firstly, it was a path to the top along the entire structure, and secondly, a path for ritual processions.
This view is supported by the abundance of spiral designs on Neolithic art objects such as the Newgrange Tomb Temple in Ireland. Since the mound is at the center of the Avebury complex of ritual, funerary and ceremonial monuments, located just 20 miles north of Stonehenge, a monument dating from about the same time, there is reason to believe that Silbury Hill has some kind of religious purpose.
The huge moat around Silbury, which was probably once filled with water, is further evidence of its ritual nature. In the early summer of 2001, a 33-foot-wide strip was discovered in the field, leading from the moat of Silbury Hill to a deep canal dug underground, which some archaeologists believe was built to transport water from local sources. However, the canals around prehistoric sites such as henjis and rats were not always designed for practical reasons.
They could perform super tasks: for example, serve as a barrier separating the spiritual from the earthly, or protection from magical influences. However, the choice of location for Silbury in this sense is very interesting. It was apparently a bright white mound surrounded by a shimmering moat. However, instead of placing this impressive structure on a hill from which it would be visible for miles around, Silbury was created in the valley.
The mound barely protrudes above the horizon and is poorly visible from other surrounding monuments. This may indicate that the place where the mound was erected was no less important than the structure itself. However, its location in the lowland did not detract from its size.
Surprisingly, Silbury Hill retained its status as a sacred site for many years. During excavations on the hill, a large number of Roman objects and buildings were found: in particular, a ritual platform mounted in a mound, more than 100 Roman coins in a ditch, as well as Roman mines and wells.
Roman-British settlements have been discovered at the nearby mound of Wayden Hill. These findings on the mound indicate that Silbury was considered a sacred site during the Roman period.
Apparently, Silbury's religious purpose continued into the Middle Ages. This is evidenced by the pottery found here, iron nails, arrowheads, and coins of King thelred II (1010). Iron nails were found in small holes drilled for wooden stakes.
At first it was assumed that these are the remains of a defensive structure, possibly a fort, located on a hill. Holes for the stakes, however, were drilled from the inside of the terraces, prompting researchers to think about using them for support rather than protection. Undoubtedly, the hill still keeps many items of interest to medievalists.
Unfortunately, the current state of Silbury Hill is of concern. In 2000, after a heavy rainstorm, a mine dug in 1776 collapsed, and a solid hole formed in the top of the hill. However, there was a benefit from this damage: the English Heritage Society (society "English Heritage") made a seismic survey on the hill to establish the extent of destruction as a result of the collapse, and subsequent restoration work returned archaeologists to study the earthen structure.
It was then that the previously mentioned spiral staircase was discovered, and the first reliable radiocarbon analysis was carried out. The researchers set a goal: to ensure the preservation of the hill for an extended period of time, limiting public access to the Silbury mound. However, despite the prohibitive inscriptions, attempts to enter the territory and climb to the top of the hill do not stop.
The most outrageous was the act of the Dutch Janet Ossbard and Bert Janssen, who hunted for aliens and were interested in anomalous crop circles. Believing that Silbury was some sort of ancient power plant, the couple, and with them another circle seeker, damaged the mound. They made their way to the passage over which the English Heritage Society had installed temporary cover, and descended into the mine. After that, a video of their stay in Silbury appeared on sale, which demonstrates "the descent into the mine, the spontaneous combustion of the cell phone screen, the appearance of beautiful colored circles of light, as well as secret cameras found inside Silbury Hill." The couple were later fined £ 5,000 for the act of vandalism and harm.
In November 2005, the English Heritage Society developed a new conservation project for Silbury Hill. According to the proposed strategy, all the mines and canals that appeared on the hill as a result of inept research in the 18th - 19th centuries will be filled with chalk, then work will begin with the consequences of erosion caused by a thousand-year history of climbing the hill by curious visitors.
Unfortunately, the access system has not yet been established, and there will always be people who will ignore the prohibitive signs trying to climb the top of the hill. But let's hope that the "English Heritage" society will approach this problem with all responsibility. Unfortunately, measures aimed at preserving Silbury Hill Barrow will not be able to bring us closer to solving the mystery of its purpose.
Since the hill is located on the site of a complex of sacred monuments from the Neolithic era, it is very important that this huge earthen structure is viewed in an appropriate context. Of course, the mound is inextricably linked with the surrounding landscape and other monuments, such as the long West Kennet mound (rectangular earthen mound), the Avebury henge and megaliths, and the entire territory of Avebury is a monumental religious center of that time.
Perhaps, in the preliterate society, it was embodied in material forms by the memory of ancestors, and Silbury Hill is one of such carriers of information about our distant ancestors that have survived to this day.