Crisis at Silbury Hill
This famous 4,500 year-old Wiltshire monument, part of the Avebury World Heritage Site, is in serious danger of collapse. A hole in the top has been collapsing inwards since June last year and proper investigations have only just started. Archaeologists from English Heritage are undertaking an exploratory dig as part of their efforts to work out a plan for repairing the hole, which is the result of the partial collapse of an 18th century mine shaft dug from top to bottom of the hill. The hole, which started off at 2 metres, has now grown to 10 metres due to one of the wettest winters on record.
The excavation will help English Heritage to find out why the tunnel collapsed and to ensure the long-term stability of the mound, which at 39 metre high, is the largest of its kind in Western Europe. The excavators will also monitor and record any archaeological deposits visible.
A ground penetrating radar survey has already been done and an experimental seismic survey is planned to give a 3D tomographic image of the hill to a resolution of 2 metres.
The excavation is preliminary to the 3D seismic survey, which will map this and other later tunnels in the hill, the result of attempts stretching back over 200 years to unlock the secrets of this enigmatic monument. English Heritage feel that it is essential to map all the holes, known and unknown, within the hill before they start repairs, which probably will not be until next autumn.
A peaceful protest was held last month to highlight the dire state of Silbury Hill and the underfunding of the care of ancient monuments.
Chester Amphitheatre
JA second season of excavation began last month on this famous site, to see how much (if any) archaeology had survived the extensive excavations of the 1960s. It was thought that the post-Roman deposits had been bulldozed to one side of the site and then spread over the area that became the seating bank when the Ministry of Works landscaped the site in the early 1970s. Expectations were that little had survived under the modern gravel of the arena floor and that, at best, traces of the timber amphitheatre might survive under the seating bank.
The results of the excavation in 2000 demonstrated that there are still significant pockets of archaeological deposits on the northern part of the site. These deposits may well cover the entire sequence from the pre-Roman ground surface through to the demolition of St John's House in the summer of 1958. Follow the progress of the excavations by logging on to: www.kmatthews.org.uk/amphitheatre/excavation_2001.html
Summer Trips
Plans have now been finalised for our Angers trip in September. There are 12 willing souls and the date happens to coincide with the twinning festival in Angers to which we are invited. (Should be a good do.)
The August coach trip this year will include a visit to Towton battlefield site in Yorkshire. If you remember I reported on recent finds from this famous battle in Newsletter 27. Martin Tarpey of the Towton Battlefield Society has arranged a special guided walk for us (present countryside restrictions permitting). If restrictions are still in place in August or the weather is unfavourable, a talk on this famous battle will be given in the local village hall. In the afternoon a visit to Aldborough Roman Town has been suggested, where there are a couple of mosaics on display and a small museum. Nearby, at Boroughbridge, are the 3 Bronze Age monoliths known as The Devils Arrows. These magnificent stones towering 7 meters high (30 feet) stand in line and were probably once part of a huge megalithic monument.
The date has not been finalised but if you are interested please contact a committee member at the meeting.
Next Meeting
Wednesday 6th June at the BP Centre (Scout HQ) in Greenough Street, at 7.30 pm as usual. This month's speaker is our very own Egyptologist John Johnson who will be presenting his latest talk on Tutankamun, which will include the preceding Armana period (starring the heretic Akenatan and his beautiful wife Nefertiti).
Hope to see you there - B.A.