Silbury Hill


Silbury Hill (England)

(religion, spiritualism, and occult)

The prehistoric Silbury Hill, located in Wiltshire, England, is not far from Stonehenge and Avebury. It is the largest manmade mound in Europe. The base of the hill covers some five and a half acres, and the hill is about 130 feet high. Built in the third millennium CE, it took between twenty and fifty years to complete. A Neolithic site, it might have something to do with the same culture that built the many stone monuments across the British Isles. The hill’s purpose, however, remains a mystery.

Investigations of the hill indicate it was constructed in three parts. In the middle of the hill is a mound approximately 20 feet high. This mound was then covered with a layer of chalk. Finally, a ditch was excavated around the hill and its material used to further build up the hill. The internal structure of the hill is hidden under the dirt that covers the chalk.

Some have suggested that the hill was a burial mound; however, no sign of any human remains have been detected inside the hill. Others believe that at one time a pole might have been erected on the hill, thus turning it into a large sundial. It might also have been a center for various worship activities that was later abandoned in favor of other nearby sites.

Silbury Hill is unimposing and can easily be missed by passing travelers who fail to see the sign that identifies it.

Sources:

Atkinson, Richard. Silbury Hill. London: BBC Publications, 1968.Cunnington, M. E. An Introduction to the Archaeology of Wiltshire, from the Earliest Times to the Pagan Saxons with Chapters on Stonehenge, Avebury, Silbury Hill, Woodhenge, Barrows, Earthwords, Etc. n.p.: privately printed, 1938.Dames, Michael. The Silbury Treasure. London: Thames & Hudson, 1976.