|
The Modern Antiquarian Forum » Silbury Hill » To the Heart of the Matter |
Log In to post a reply
|
|
|
|
| Topic View: Flat | Threaded | |
|
nigelswift 8112 posts |
Nov 10, 2007, 15:50
|
||
|
Lots of rumbling and falling earth sounds. Chalk dust coming from the ceiling That's exactly what I've heard from THREE different people who've been in there, fine chalk dust in the atmosphere and horrible rumbles from falls during their visit. What is concerning isn't the fact itself, its obviously true and has to be accepted, but two other things: a.) The official accounts have never given the public the least inkling that things are as dire as that (and dire HAS to be the word, it can't be spun otherwise) b.) The same account has been given by someone who was in there in March as well as two who were in there more recently so it looks like there have been falls going on for pretty well 7 months.
|
|||
tjj 3606 posts |
Nov 10, 2007, 17:07
|
||
|
Thank you NS for that clear and matter-of-fact information and please forgive the asumption that Winterboune Defenders might be connected to Heritage Action. It does indeed sound DIRE and even catastrophic for Silbury. I have no partisan loyalty to English Heritage (ie I am not employed by them) but have to observe that they seem to be in a no-win situation. If Silbury really is collapsing in on itself it would be a feat of engineering ingenuity to stop it happening without endangering the lives of the people working on the project. You clearly have more knowledge and expertise than I do on this matter so I have ask what would you suggest as a solution other than what is already being done. If it is a question of money that lets start a local and national appeal to spread the word - I for one would be happy to write to both the local and national press, if that is what is needed. The same goes for the matter of the door and lintel. tjj
|
|||
|
wd 5 posts |
Nov 10, 2007, 17:50
|
||
|
Hi tjj, I'm sorry if I come across as anti-english heritage, I'm not by any means. The majority of their workforce are only in their job for the love of it. Its not as if they are in it for the money or prestige. They work hard, long hours and get people like me inadvertantly abusing them on online forums. The EH I dislike is the Corporate EH. The ones that seemingly care more about their funding and PR than the stuff they are supposed to be protecting. Personally I abhor the elephant in the room. All those hundreds of people; EH employees, Skanska employees, contractors, press, councillors, other random invitees. They've been inside, they've seen and heard the evidence, and yet apparently they keep schtum. Way I see this, either the word on the ground is wrong or those people are really too ignorant, shallow or scared that they won't whistleblow to save Silbury. In a years time are we going to need to reference these warnings to prove to some regulator or a suddenly interested newspaper that the collapse of the hill was predicted? known about? Will we really need to use the freedom of information act to get those emails between senior EH people to prove what they knew, to find out exactly why it was never released before it was too late? Lets hope not.
|
|||
Pete G 3506 posts |
Nov 10, 2007, 17:55
|
||
|
IF the hill was collapsing on the inside as bad as people here claim then why didn't the local and national press report it when they were inside last week? Skanska & EH would not allow anyone inside if there was the remotest chance of any collapse hurting anyone. The Silbury filmed showed the state of the collapse in August and that has been made safe. Infilling starts on wednesday and the mound should be completely finished by January. The scare mongering here isn't helping at all, its just the chuckle bro's bashing EH (Again)
|
|||
|
nigelswift 8112 posts |
Nov 10, 2007, 18:07
|
||
|
I have no reason to doubt what is now being done isn't all that can be done nor that it is isn't being done expertly. But then, I don't know WHAT is being done or what needs to be done, nor does the rest of the public (which is a seven and a half year old disgrace!) I share your concern about the danger to people working there, which ought to be everyone's main priority. I worry, a lot, about the degree of instability. How unstable is a structure the stability of which hasn't been explained to the public by experts? I'm glad we've got past the excavation stage as from now on, hopefully, structural engineers will be in sole charge. At the same time I worry that this stage is most hazardous, particularly the removal of old supports. I doubt if the collateral damage will be proven worthwhile in many cases. (I also wonder about the extreme difficulty of fully filling the voids and therefore whether it will happen in full.)
|
|||
moss 2897 posts |
Edited Nov 10, 2007, 18:48
Nov 10, 2007, 18:46
|
||
|
Well, it does'nt seem as straightforward as all that Pete, Channel 4 news reporter on the 24th October said that.. "There is an urgency to the repairs taking place. During our short visit, another large chunk of Silbury hill gave in to gravity, spilling into the tunnel," I suspect Silbury is shifting around inside, and the Skanska people are doing a brilliant job under difficult circumstances but I don't think people are being bloodyminded when they ask for the truth. To be honest it will be a relief to everyone when its filled in and the end is nigh.
|
|||
|
Pete G 3506 posts |
Nov 10, 2007, 18:55
|
||
|
Moss, if you look at the channel 4 news report carefully you will see the 'collapse' is a small amount of material falling around the sides. The new tunnel that skanska have installed has corrugated sheeting top and sides so any amount of chalk falling will sound a lot worst than it really is. Does anyone actualy email EH and ask questions? I have had all my queries delt with to my satisfaction. I was told that the Ask the Experts section on the website has very few requests for info. If there had been any more serious internal collapses they would be visible on the surface of the mound. There aren't any, I have double checked with photos from previous years.
|
|||
goffik 3926 posts |
Nov 10, 2007, 20:37
|
||
|
Blimey, wd! I'd heard almost the exact same things from a trusted source, but didn't want to post them for fear of being a scaremonger, or suchlike! It's all a bit worrying... G x
|
|||
|
tomwatts 376 posts |
Nov 10, 2007, 21:11
|
||
|
Didn't the Duke of Northumberland report that his men found large cavities or voids inside the hill when he first dug into it? Maybe Silbury has been settling all the time. Probably not to the extent it is now.
|
|||
StoneGloves 1149 posts |
Nov 10, 2007, 22:14
|
||
|
tomwatts wrote: Didn't the Duke of Northumberland report that his men found large cavities or voids inside the hill when he first dug into it? "Pointing Percy at the Pitprops".
|
| Pages: 22 – [ Previous | 1 2 3 4 5 6 | Next ] | Add a reply to this topic |
|
|
|
| The Modern Antiquarian Forum Index | |
