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The Modern Antiquarian Forum » Silbury Hill » When Silbury is tunnelled |
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nigelswift 8112 posts |
Jun 01, 2005, 19:32
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"and if the public decide they want a tunnel (say to further the existing limited knowledge about Silbury)?" ...they should get precisely what they want. It's their monument after all.
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smallblueplanet 472 posts |
Jun 01, 2005, 19:45
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Excellent! I can see the signs for Silbury Theme Park even now! .....you could have giant water slides into the ditches....Silbury Splash!!
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Jo-anne 159 posts |
Jun 01, 2005, 20:09
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"want a tunnel (say to further the existing limited knowledge about Silbury)?" There are many research options available that would not need to have a full scale tunnel. Also a research project should be an University Archaeological option at a moment that this is in co-operation with a larger and wider scale archaeology project with a objective to shed some light on this exact dated timeframe in the pre-history. I'm not all that knowledgable on the hill, but is there a burial in the hart of the mound? Is it important to get to the hart, tunneling? Would it not be better to first understand the immediatly surrounding area, say inside a two mile radius. It may be hard to track back all the MD artifacts but with good samples of the earth, and the museums together with some new archaeology 'fine' research experts a understanding will develope as the living surroundings of someone holds far more information than the last resting place. Once 10 years onward, when this research would be completed I am sure that there will be new and less disruptive ways to research inside the hill. The importance of the settlements are also an issue at Thornboroughs Lady bridge. The quarry is well aware that 'fine' finds will give us knowledge on the using of the ritual landscape, as are the tenders of the hill. It is illegal to disrupt places where important archaeological conclusions have been made or can be made. Both are therefore in the wrong and denial is incompetence.
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VenerableBottyBurp 675 posts |
Jun 01, 2005, 20:11
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"and if the public decide they want a tunnel (say to further the existing limited knowledge about Silbury)?" The tunnel isn't being proposed to further existing knowledge about Silbury, but to remove the voids above the 1849 and Atkinson tunnels, take new measurements and readings from the turf stack as Atkinson cocked this up, and in addition whilst they are there retrieve some of the previously untouched petrified prehistoric ground material. VBB
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Jo-anne 159 posts |
Jun 01, 2005, 20:15
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"take new measurements and readings from the turf stack as Atkinson cocked this up, and in addition whilst they are there retrieve some of the previously untouched petrified prehistoric ground material." Nicely put VVB Perhaps I shouldn't bite, but the hill is a serious issue.
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Jo-anne 159 posts |
Jun 01, 2005, 20:16
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That should be VBB.
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smallblueplanet 472 posts |
Jun 01, 2005, 20:21
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"... take new measurements and readings from the turf stack as Atkinson cocked this up, and in addition whilst they are there retrieve some of the previously untouched petrified prehistoric ground material." and this won't further our knowledge then?
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smallblueplanet 472 posts |
Jun 01, 2005, 20:25
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what on earth are you talking about? "Also a research project should be an University Archaeological option at a moment that this is in co-operation with a larger and wider scale archaeology project with a objective to shed some light on this exact dated timeframe in the pre-history." is English not your first language?
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VenerableBottyBurp 675 posts |
Jun 01, 2005, 20:26
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There is no known burial Jo-anne, and there have been one top to bottom shaft 1776-7 (this started the problem), then a tunnel in 1849, and they cut side galleys in and around the centre that in plan view looks like an asphix key shape, and another tunnel was cut in 1968 joining the older tunnel. The problem is that it wasn't known that the shaft was never properly backfilled because no record was made at the time and EH and their state ancestors have never kept any records in over 120 years, so a pattern of material dropping down the shaft wasn't noticed and was continually topped up by maintenance crews who throught the damage caused by rabbits. This material in the shaft eventually collapsed because the 1968 tunnel was refilled by spoil being blown back in (a standard mining technique at the time) and this left voids as it wasn't truly compacted. Roof falls above these voids finally combined with rain from above and material collapsed down the shaft in 2000. A further major collapse occurred because EH ignored advice to use a tarpaulin cover and went for a metal cover suspended on scaffold poles, this collected water and as they had fitted no means of guttering it deposited the water down the shaft, the metal cover inevitably attracted ice loading that made the structure multiply its own weight by Ks, thus it collapsed into the hole sending more precious archaeology into oblivion. This is only part of the story of course. Sorry, I have to go for my tea so haven't re-read this. VBB
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VenerableBottyBurp 675 posts |
Jun 01, 2005, 20:34
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You stated gaining knowledge about Silbury, & it has been customary to regard the turf stack seperate. It becomes even more important to keep the two apart when considering what happens next as the information at the centre of Silbury isn't about the hill itself but the period in which it was built. Arguably you could promote digging into Marlborough mound through the grotto to see if it is a Neolithic construction (the mound not the grotto) and use that floor for the research that Bell and others want to get their hands on. My personal feeling is that Silbury as a structure is more than just that floor it happens to sit on, and actually more importnat than the information that the turf stack and floor offer. Obviously I wouldn't say that if I was into decomposing matter like Martin Bell and his team. VBB
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