Julian Cope presents Head Heritage

Well, as I said, speculation is fun, and a lot of the speculation on these pages has subsequently been taken up by the archaeological establishment so it’s not without its merit, but where do you begin on this one?

We don’t know for sure that Silbury and the Obelisk were visible from each other when both were ‘in use’ but, assuming that they were, then anything goes really. Ceremonial use would be one possibility. Practical use as two points in a chain of beacons might also be a possibility. If you could see Silbury from other points in the Henge it’d probably be safe to say that the 'alignment' is coincidental, but the fact that it’s an alignment between Silbury and the Obelisk might suggest that it was intentional.

Speculating again, maybe it was/is possible to see Silbury from on top of the Cove; next time I see someone up there I’ll ask (then tell them to get the effing down ;-) On a serious note, you can see Silbury from Winterbourne Bassett and, at this time of year, from the road between Winterbourne Monkton and Avebury. Be nice (if it hasn’t been done already) to have a map showing all the points from which you can see Silbury.