Editing Silbury Hill

{{Short description|Neolithic mound in Wiltshire, England}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
| Part_of     = [[Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites]]
| Location    = [[Avebury (village)|Avebury]], [[Wiltshire]], England
| Image       = SilburyHill gobeirne.jpg
| Criteria    = Cultural: i, ii, iii
| ID          = 373-002
| Year        = 1986
| Coordinates = {{coord|51.4157|-1.8574|type:landmark_region:GB-WIL|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin    = England
|WHS=Silbury Hill}}
'''Silbury Hill''' is a prehistoric artificial chalk mound near [[Avebury (village)|Avebury]] in the English county of Wiltshire. It is part of the [[Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites]] [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]]. At {{convert|39.3|m|ft|0}} high,<ref>{{National Heritage List for England |num=1008445 |desc=Silbury Hill |access-date=13 July 2021}}</ref> the hill is the second tallest prehistoric man-made mound in Europe (after the mound in Udine, Italy) {{sfnp|Atkinson|1967}} and one of the largest in the world; it is similar in volume to contemporary Egyptian pyramids.{{sfnp|Malone|1989|p=95}} The site is in the care of [[English Heritage]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Silbury Hill, Avebury |url=https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/silbury-hill/ |website=[[English Heritage]]}}</ref>

Silbury Hill is part of the complex of [[Neolithic British Isles|Neolithic]] monuments around Avebury, which includes the [[Avebury|Avebury Ring]] and [[West Kennet Long Barrow]]. Its original purpose is still debated. Several other important Neolithic monuments in Wiltshire, including the large [[henge]]s at [[Marden Henge|Marden]] and Salisbury Plain ([[Stonehenge]]), may be culturally or functionally related to Avebury and Silbury.

==Structure==
{{Mapframe|type=point|frame=yes|zoom=12|frame-width=250|text=Interactive map of Silbury Hill}}

Composed mainly of chalk and clay excavated from the surrounding area, the mound stands {{convert|39.3|m|ft|0}} high{{efn|
The measurement is taken from the present ground level at the top of silt that has accumulated in the trench surrounding the tumulus, to a depth of nine metres.{{sfnp|Atkinson|1974|p=127}}
}} and covers about {{convert|2|ha|acre|0|abbr=}}. The hill was constructed in several stages between {{circa|{{nobr|2400~2300 {{sc|BC}} }}}}<ref name=Jones>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h3q2Y3GVpAEC&pg=PA181 |page=181 |title=Prehistoric Materialities: Becoming material in prehistoric Britain and Ireland
|last = Meirion Jones |first = Andrew |year=2012 |publisher = [[Oxford University Press]] |isbn = 978-0-1995-5642-7 }}</ref> and displays immense technical skill and prolonged control over labour and resources. Archaeologists calculate that it took 18&nbsp;million man-hours, equivalent to 500&nbsp;men working for 15&nbsp;years<ref name=Atkinson-1974-128>{{harvp|Atkinson|1974|p=128}}</ref> to deposit and shape {{convert|248000|m3|yd3}} of earth and fill. [[Euan MacKie]] asserts that no simple late Neolithic tribal structure as usually imagined could have sustained this and similar projects, and envisages an authoritarian theocratic power elite with broad-ranging control across southern Britain.<ref>Mackie, ''Science and Society in Prehistoric Britain'' (New York: St. Martin's Press) 1977.</ref>

The base of the hill is circular and {{convert|167|m|ft}} in diameter. The summit is flat-topped and {{convert|30|m|ft}} in diameter. A smaller mound was constructed first, and in a later phase much enlarged. The initial structures at the base of the hill were perfectly circular: surveying reveals that the centre of the flat top and the centre of the cone that describes the hill lie within a metre of one another.<ref name=Atkinson-1974-128/> There are indications that the top originally had a rounded profile, but this was flattened in the medieval period to provide a base for a building, perhaps with a defensive purpose.<ref name=eh/>

The first clear evidence of construction, dated to around {{nobr|2400 {{sc|BCE}},}}<ref name=NMR>
{{cite report
 |title=Silbury Hill
 |year=2007
 |series=National Monument Record
 |publisher=[[English Heritage]]
 |url=http://pastscape.english-heritage.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=220743
 |url-status=dead |access-date=24 June 2009
 |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100910153854/http://pastscape.english%2Dheritage.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id%3D220743
 |archive-date=10 September 2010
}}
</ref> consisted of a gravel core with a revetting [[Megalithic architectural elements#Kerb or peristalith|kerb]] of stakes and [[sarsen]] boulders. Alternate layers of chalk rubble and earth were placed on top of this: the second phase involved heaping further chalk on top of the core, using material excavated from a series of surrounding ditches which were progressively refilled then recut several metres further out.<ref name=Jones/> The step surrounding the summit dates from this phase of construction, either as a precaution against slippage,<ref>
{{cite book
 |last = Darvill |first = Timothy
 |year = 1996
 |title = Prehistoric Britain |edition=2
 |publisher = Routledge
 |location = London, UK
 |isbn = 0-415-15135-X
 |page = [https://archive.org/details/prehistoricbrita00darv/page/n93 93]
 |url = https://archive.org/details/prehistoricbrita00darv
 |url-access = limited  |via = [[Internet Archive]] (archive.org) 
}}
</ref> or as the remnants of a spiral path ascending from the base, used to raise materials during construction, and later as a processional route.<ref name=BA70/><ref name=NMR/>

Silbury Hill was originally entirely white since it had a chalk (limestone) exterior, and the surrounding ditch may have been regularly filled with water from underground springs.<ref>
{{cite web
 |title=Silbury Hill
 |series=Avebury
 |website=Bradshaw Foundation
 |url=https://www.bradshawfoundation.com/avebury/silbury_hill/index.php
}}
</ref>

==Investigations==
[[File:Silbury 1.jpg|thumb|Silbury Hill seen from the south east]]
[[File:Silbury Hill, England.jpg|thumb|Silbury Hill, modern artistic recreation of its construction {{Circa|2350 BC}}]]
[[File:Silbury Hill, as seen from West Kennet Hill.jpg|thumb|Silbury Hill, as viewed from the nearby hill on which [[West Kennet Long Barrow]] is located]]

===17th, 18th, and 19th centuries===
The site was first illustrated by [[John Aubrey|Aubrey]], the 17th-century antiquarian, whose notes, in the form of his ''Monumenta Britannica'', were published between 1680–1682. Later, [[William Stukeley|Stukeley]] wrote that a skeleton and bridle had been discovered during tree planting on the summit in 1723.{{efn|
It is probable that the skeleton and bridle unearthed in 1723 was from a later, secondary burial.
}} In October&nbsp;1776, a team of [[Mining in Cornwall and Devon|Cornish miners]] overseen by [[Hugh Percy, 2nd Duke of Northumberland|the Duke of Northumberland]] and Colonel Edward Drax sank a vertical shaft from the top.<ref>
{{cite news
 |last=Hinman |first=Niki
 |date=2 February 2010
 |title=Long-lost theory on Silbury Hill is uncovered
 |place = Swindon, UK
 |newspaper = [[Gazette and Herald|The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald]]
 |url=https://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/4884791.long-lost-theory-on-silbury-hill-is-uncovered/
 |access-date=2021-07-13
}}
</ref> Brian Edwards argues that Drax and his friends—all members of [[Anna, Lady Miller|Mrs. Millers]]' poetry set in Batheaston—were interested in Silbury Hill, because they thought it paralleled the Greek legends of Apollo killing [[Python (mythology)|Python]], the monstrous snake that lived in the Caves of Parnassus.<ref>
{{cite journal
 |last = Edwards  |first = Brian
 |date = Winter–Spring 2013
 |title = Imagining 'Silbury and Parnassus the same', Edward Drax and the Batheaston vase adventure
 |journal = The Regional Historian
 |issue = 26 |pages = 21–16
}}
</ref> In 1849, a tunnel was dug horizontally from the edge into the centre. In 1867, the [[Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society]] excavated the east side of the hill to see if traces of the Roman road were underneath it. No traces were found, and later excavations south of the hill located the road in fields to the south, making a pronounced swerve to avoid the base of the hill. This was conclusive proof that the hill was there before the road—but the hill provided an alignment sight-line for the road.<ref>
{{cite book
 |title = Silbury Hill
 |publisher = BBC Publications
 |year = 1969
}} — Refers to the excavations for the [[BBC TV]] programme dealing with the new 1968–1969 excavations for [[BBC2]] TV programmes about the hill
</ref>

===20th century===
[[Flinders Petrie]] investigated the hill after the First World War. From 1968 to 1970 professor [[Richard J. C. Atkinson]] undertook work at Silbury which was broadcast on [[BBC Television]]. This excavation revealed most of the environmental evidence about the site, including the remains of winged ants which indicate that Silbury was begun in an August. Atkinson dug numerous trenches at the site and reopened the 1849 tunnel, where he found material suggesting a Neolithic date, although none of his [[radiocarbon dating|radiocarbon date]]s are considered reliable by modern standards. He argued that the hill was constructed in steps, each tier being filled in with packed chalk and then smoothed off or weathered into a slope. Atkinson reported the [[carbon 14 dating|C-14 date]] for the base layer of turf and decayed material indicated a corrected date for the commencement of Silbury was close to {{nobr|2750 {{sc|BCE}}.}}<ref>
{{cite book
 |first = Aubrey |last = Burl
 |year = 1979
 |title = Prehistoric Avebury
 |publisher = Yale University Press
 |page = 129
}}
</ref>

===21st century===
After heavy rains in May&nbsp;2002, a collapse of the 1776 excavation shaft caused a hole to form in the top of the hill. [[English Heritage]] undertook a [[reflection seismology|seismic survey]] of the hill to identify the damage caused by earlier excavations and determine the hill's stability. Repairs were undertaken, but the site remained closed to the public. As part of this remedial work, English Heritage, with help from AC Archaeology, excavated two further small trenches at the summit. Neil Adam from AC Archaeology made the important discovery of an [[antler]] fragment, the first from a secure [[archaeological context]] at the site. A radiocarbon date of {{circa| {{nobr|2490–2340 {{sc|BCE}}}} }} dates the second phase of the mound convincingly to the Late Neolithic.<ref name=BA70>
{{cite magazine
 |last=Field |first=David
 |date=May 2003
 |title=Great sites: Silbury Hill
 |magazine = British Archaeology magazine
 |publisher = Council for British Archaeology
 |place = York, UK
 |issue = 70
 |issn=1357-4442
 |url=http://www.britarch.ac.uk/ba/ba70/feat2.shtml
}}
</ref>

In March&nbsp;2007, English Heritage announced that a [[Roman Britain|Roman]] village had been found at the foot of Silbury Hill. It contained regularly laid out streets and houses.<ref>
{{cite news
 |title = Silbury Hill reveals Roman settlement
 |date = 2007-03-10
 |agency = [[Reuters]]
 |website = reuters.com
 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-monument-idUKL1053491320070310
 |access-date=2021-07-13
 |language=en
}}
</ref>

In May 2007, contractors [[Skanska]], under the overall direction of English Heritage,<ref name=eh>
{{cite web
 |title = Silbury Hill Conservation Project, Wiltshire
 |year = 2008
 |website = [[English Heritage]]
 |url = http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/caring/conservation-projects/silbury-hill/
 |url-status = dead
 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130120122945/http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/caring/conservation-projects/silbury-hill/
 |archive-date = 20 January 2013
}}
</ref> began a major programme of stabilisation, filling the tunnels and shafts from previous investigations with hundreds of tonnes of chalk. At the same time a new archaeological survey was conducted using modern equipment and techniques.<ref>
{{cite news
 |title = Tunnel open again at Silbury hill
 |date = 2007-05-11
 |website = [[BBC News]]
 |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/wiltshire/6645367.stm
 |access-date = 2021-07-13
}}
</ref> The work finished in early 2008; a "significant" new understanding of the monument's construction and history had been obtained.<ref>
{{cite magazine
 |last = Pitts |first = Mike
 |date = 6 June 2008
 |title = Silbury is safe
 |magazine = British Archaeology magazine
 |issue = 101  |page = 8
 |publisher = Council for British Archaeology
 |place = York, UK
 |issn = 1357-4442
}}
</ref>

In 2010, letters written by Edward Drax concerning the 1776 excavation were found in the British Library. He describes a "perpendicular cavity" {{convert|40|ft|adj=off}} deep and {{convert|6|in|cm}} wide. As wood fragments—thought to be oak—have been found, it has been suggested that this may have held an oak tree or a "[[totem]] pole".<ref>
{{cite news
 |title = Silbury Hill 'built around pole'
 |date = 2010-02-03
 |website = [[BBC News]]
 |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/wiltshire/8495004.stm
 |access-date = 2021-07-13
}}
</ref>

[[File:Silbury hill.jpg|thumb|Silbury Hill 3D model]]
[[File:Silbury Hill Profile A 1.jpg|thumb|Silbury Hill 3D model]]
[[File:Silbury hill.webm|thumb|Silbury Hill 3D model video]]

===Comparable sites===
[[File:Prehistoric Silbury Hill, Wiltshire.JPG|thumb|right|Silbury Hill after heavy rain]]
Following the 2007–2008 works, archaeologists investigated whether Silbury Hill was the only such mound built by the people of the time, or if there might be other comparable mounds that have not been recognised as prehistoric. A strong candidate was felt to be the [[Marlborough Mound]], in the grounds of [[Marlborough College]], {{convert|8.3|km|miles}} east of Silbury Hill, further down the [[River Kennet]]. The mound is {{convert|18|m|ft}} high, less than half the height of Silbury. There are archaeological and documentary indications that the Marlborough Mound had been used for medieval fortifications known as [[Marlborough Castle]], and it had been identified as a Norman [[Motte-and-bailey castle|motte]]. A team of archaeologists, led by Jim Leary, analysed core samples from two 10&nbsp;cm diameter boreholes. Charcoal from immediately below the mound was from around {{nobr|2500 {{sc|BCE}},}} making it a close contemporary of Silbury.<ref name=leary1>
{{cite journal
 |last1 = Leary    |first1 = Jim
 |last2 = Marshall |first2 = Peter
 |date = December 2012
 |title = The giants of Wessex: The chronology of the three largest mounds in Wiltshire, UK
 |journal = [[Antiquity (journal)|Antiquity]]
 |volume = 86 |issue = 334 |pages =
 |issn = 0003-598X
 |url=http://www.antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/leary334/
 |access-date=12 August 2016 }}
</ref>

Another contender, but which had been all but levelled in the 19th&nbsp;century, was at [[Marden Henge]], {{convert|10|km|miles}} south of Silbury. Known as Hatfield Barrow, a surviving fragment of what may have been a 15&nbsp;m high mound also gave construction dates to the {{nobr|mid-3rd millennium {{sc|BCE}}.}}<ref name="leary1" />

The Round Mound Project to investigate other likely mounds began in 2015, and from 154&nbsp;potential sites across England, 20 were selected for core sampling and detailed surveying. By late 2017, 14 had produced results confirming that they were built immediately after the [[Norman invasion of 1066]]. Three were shown to be later medieval mounds and one was from Saxon times, so may be a burial mound. Only one, [[Skipsea Castle]] mound in East Yorkshire, was found to be prehistoric, but dating to {{nobr|800–400 {{sc|BCE}},}} during the [[British Iron Age]]. On the basis of this survey, it would appear that Neolithic mound-building was restricted to the upper Kennet and Avon valleys, and that nothing extant elsewhere in Britain comes close as a comparison to Silbury Hill.<ref name=leary2>
{{cite journal
 |first1 = Jim    |last1 = Leary
 |first2 = Elaine |last2 = Jamieson
 |first3 = Phil   |last3 = Stastney
 |date = March 2018
 |title = Normal for Normans? Exploring the large round mounds of England
 |journal=[[Current Archaeology]]
 |issue = 337 |pages = 18–24
 |issn = 0011-3212
 |url=https://www.archaeology.co.uk/articles/normal-normans-exploring-large-round-mounds-england.htm
 |url-access=limited |access-date=4 March 2018 }}
</ref>

===Artifacts===
Few prehistoric [[Artifact (archaeology)|artifact]]s have been found on Silbury Hill: at its core there is only clay, flints, turf, moss, topsoil, gravel, freshwater shells, mistletoe, oak, hazel, [[Sarsen|sarsen stones]], ox bones, and antler tines. Roman and [[Middle Ages|medieval]] items have been found on and around the site since the nineteenth century.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}

==Purpose==
[[File:Silbury Hill, Wiltshire. - geograph.org.uk - 364299.jpg|thumb|Aerial view of Silbury Hill and the A4 road]]
{{OSM Location map
|float = right
|width=290| height=300
| coord = {{coord|51.415|-1.852}}              
| zoom = 12         <!--(1=whole world, 18=a street)-->
| caption = Map of Silbury Hill, Wiltshire, and nearby Neolithic sites

| minimap = file 
| mini-file = Wiltshire UK location map.svg
| mini-width = 84
| mini-height = 102
| minipog-x = 44
| minipog-y = 39
| minimap-boxwidth=12
| scalemark = 86

| mark-coord = {{coord|51.41556|-1.85750}}
| label=Silbury Hill     
| label-pos=left|mark-title=Silbury Hill| mark-image=Avebury Trusloe, Avebury - geograph.org.uk - 1010863.jpg

| label1=West Kennet Long Barrow| mark-coord1={{coord|51.408564|-1.851083}}|mark-size1=8| label-size1=9| mark-title1=[[West Kennet Long Barrow]]| mark-image1=West Kennet Long Barrow entry.jpg
| label2=Avebury Ring| mark-coord2={{coord|51.4286|-1.85417}}|label-pos2=right| mark-title2=[[Avebury Ring]] stone circle| mark-image2=Avebury Ring - geograph.org.uk - 442927.jpg
| label3='The Sanctuary'| mark-coord3={{coord|51.41|-1.8317}}|label-pos3=top| mark-title3='[[The Sanctuary]]' concentric stone circles| mark-image3=Thesanctuary.jpg
| label4=Windmill Hill| mark-coord4={{coord|51.4415|-1.8762}}|label-pos4=bottom| mark-title4=[[Windmill Hill, Avebury]] causewayed enclosure| mark-image4=The eastern edge of Windmill Hill, near Winterbourne Monkton - geograph.org.uk - 1011020.jpg
| label5=River Kennet| mark-coord5={{coord|51.4210|-1.8568}}|label-pos5=top|mark-size5=0|label-color5=#77A1CB|label-size5=8|label-angle5=62| mark-title5=River Kennet| mark-image5=River Kennet between Avebury and Silbury Hill - geograph.org.uk - 282009.jpg
| label6=Marlborough Mound| mark-coord6={{coord|51.416|-1.737}}| mark-title6=Marlborough Mound| mark-image6 =Marlborough College from St Peter's church roof - geograph.org.uk - 460663.jpg| mark-description6=Marlborough College, The tree-covered mound is visible beyond the college building.
| label7=Hatfield Barrow, Marden Henge| mark-coord7={{coord|51.3233|-1.8712}}| mark-title7=Hatfield Barrow| mark-image7=Marden, bridge - geograph.org.uk - 1757024.jpg| mark-description7=[[Marden Henge]], now largely lost, included a large mound in the vicinity of Hatfield Farm.
| label8=P E W S E Y   D O W N S | mark-coord8={{coord|51.398|-1.8557}} |label-pos8=left | mark-size8=0 | label-color8=#81AF81| mark-title8=none
| label9=F Y F I E L D | labela9=D O W N | mark-coord9={{coord|51.43|-1.803}} |label-pos9=left | mark-size9=0 | label-color9=#81AF81 | mark-title9=none
}}
The purpose of the hill is unknown, though various suggestions have been put forward.

===Folklore===
According to legend, Silbury is the last resting place of a King Sil, represented in a life-size gold statue and sitting on a golden horse. A local legend noted in 1913<ref>
{{cite journal
 |first = Robert M. |last = Heanley
 |date = December 1913
 |title = Silbury Hill
 |journal = [[Folklore (journal)|Folklore]]
 |volume = 24 |issue = 4 |page = 524
}}
</ref> states that the [[Devil]] was carrying a bag of soil to drop on the citizens of [[Marlborough, Wiltshire|Marlborough]], but he was stopped by the priests of nearby Avebury. In 1861 it was reported<ref>
{{cite magazine
 |title = {{grey|[no title cited]}}
 |date = December 1861
 |magazine=Wilts Archaeological Magazine
 |page = 181 }} as cited by
: {{cite journal
 |first = J.B. |last = Partridge
 |date = June 1915
 |title = Wiltshire folklore
 |journal = [[Folklore (journal)|Folklore]]
 |volume = 26 |issue = 2 |page = 212
|doi = 10.1080/0015587X.1915.9718879
 |url = https://zenodo.org/record/2501522
 }}
</ref> that hundreds of people from Kennet, Avebury, Overton, and the neighbouring villages thronged Silbury Hill every [[Palm Sunday]].

===Other suggestions===

John C. Barret asserts that any ritual at Silbury Hill would have involved physically raising a few individuals far above the level of everyone else, where they would have been visible for miles around and from several other monuments in the area. This would possibly indicate an elite group, perhaps a priesthood, powerfully displaying their authority.<ref>
{{cite book
 |last = Barret |first = John
 |year = 1994
 |title = Fragments from Antiquity: An archaeology of social life in Britain {{nobr|2900–1200 {{sc|BC}}}}
 |publisher = Blackwell
 |place = Oxford, UK
 |pages = 29–31
}}
</ref>

Michael Dames has put forward a composite theory of seasonal rituals, in an attempt to explain the purpose of Silbury Hill and its associated sites (West Kennet Long Barrow, the Avebury henge, [[The Sanctuary]] and [[Windmill Hill, Avebury|Windmill Hill]]), from which the summit of Silbury Hill is visible.{{sfnp|Dames|1976}}

[[Paul Devereux]]  observes that Silbury and its surrounding monuments appear to have been designed with a system of inter-related sightlines, focusing on the step several metres below the summit. From various surrounding barrows and from Avebury, the step aligns with hills on the horizon behind Silbury, or with the hills in front of Silbury, leaving only the topmost part visible. In the latter case, Devereux hypothesises that ripe cereal crops grown on the intervening hill would perfectly cover the upper portion of Silbury, with the top of the corn and the top of Silbury coinciding.

Jim Leary and David Field (2010) conclude that the mound's purpose cannot be known, and the multiple and overlapping construction phases – almost continuous remodelling – suggest there was no blueprint and that the process of building was probably the most important thing of all: perhaps the process was more important than the hill.<ref>
{{cite book
 |last1 = Leary |first1 = Jim
 |last2 = Field |first2 = David
 |year = 2010
 |title = The Story of Silbury Hill
 |publisher = [[English Heritage]]
 |place = Swindon, UK
}}
</ref>

== Site of Special Scientific Interest ==
The hill's vegetation is species-rich chalk grassland, dominated by [[upright brome]] and [[Arrhenatherum elatius|false oat-grass]], but with many species characteristic of this habitat, including a strong population of the rare [[Orobanche elatior|knapweed broomrape]].<ref>
{{cite web
 |title = Citation sheet for the site
 |year = 1965
 |website = [[Natural England]]
 |url = https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/PDFsForWeb/Citation/1002057.pdf
 |access-date = 24 June 2022
}}
</ref> In 1965 and 1986 the entire hill – in all {{convert|2.3|ha|acre}} – was notified as a [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]].<ref>
{{cite web
 |title = Silbury Hill
 |department = [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]]
 |website = [[Natural England]]
 |url=https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteDetail.aspx?SiteCode=S1002057&SiteName=silbury&countyCode=&responsiblePerson=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea=
 |access-date=2022-06-24
}}
</ref>

==Footnotes==
{{notelist}}

==See also==
{{div col begin|colwidth=13em}}
* [[Bell Beaker culture]]
* [[European Megalithic Culture]]
* [[Marlborough Mound]]
* [[Neolithic British Isles]]
* ''[[On Silbury Hill]]'' — book by [[Adam Thorpe]] (2014)
* ''[[Silbury Air]]''
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist|25em}}

===Other references===
{{refbegin|colwidth=25em|small=yes}}

* {{cite journal
 |last = Atkinson |first = R.J.C. |author-link = Richard J. C. Atkinson
 |year = 1967
 |title = {{grey|[no title cited]}}
 |journal = [[Antiquity (journal)|Antiquity]]
 |volume = 41 |issue = |page =
}}{{full citation needed|date=May 2024|reason= missing title, page nr.}}

* {{cite journal
 |last = Atkinson |first = R.J.C. |author-link = Richard J. C. Atkinson
 |year = 1969
 |title = {{grey|[no title cited]}}
 |journal = [[Antiquity (journal)|Antiquity]]
 |volume = 43 |issue = |page = 216
|doi = 10.1017/S0003598X00107586 }}{{full citation needed|date=May 2024|reason= missing title}}

* {{cite journal
 |last = Atkinson |first = R.J.C. |author-link = Richard J. C. Atkinson
 |year = 1970
 |title = {{grey|[no title cited]}}
 |journal = [[Antiquity (journal)|Antiquity]]
 |volume = 44 |issue = |pages = 313–314
|doi = 10.1017/S0003598X00104582 }}{{full citation needed|date=May 2024|reason= missing title}}

* {{cite journal
 |last = Atkinson |first = R.J.C. |author-link = Richard J. C. Atkinson
 |year = 1974
 |title = Neolithic science and technology
 |journal = Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London
 |series = Series&nbsp;A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences
 |volume =  276|issue =  1257|page = 127
|doi = 10.1098/rsta.1974.0014 |bibcode = 1974RSPTA.276..123A }}{{full citation needed|date=May 2024|reason=Volume & issue nrs. missing}}

* {{cite book
 |last = Dames |first = Michael
 |year = 1977
 |title = The Avebury Cycle
 |publisher = Thames & Hudson
 |bibcode = 1977avcy.book.....D
 |place = London, UK
}}

* {{cite book
 |last = Dames |first = Michael
 |year = 1976
 |title = The Silbury Treasure
 |publisher = Thames & Hudson
 |place = London, UK
}}

* {{cite book
 |last = Dames |first = Michael
 |year = 2010
 |title = Silbury: Resolving the enigma
 |publisher = [[The History Press]]
 |isbn = 978-0-7524-5450-4
}}

* {{cite book
 |last = Devereux |first = Paul
 |year = 1999
 |title = Earth Memory: Practical examples introduce a new system to unravel ancient secrets
 |publisher = Foulsham
}}

* {{cite magazine
 |last = Field |first = David
 |date = May 2003
 |title = Great sites: Silbury Hill
 |magazine = British Archaeology (e‑magazine)
 |volume = |issue = 70 |pages = 
 |issn = 1357-4442
 |url = http://www.britarch.ac.uk/ba/ba70/feat2.shtml
 |url-status = dead
 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120622082338/http://www.britarch.ac.uk/ba/ba70/feat2.shtml
 |archive-date = 22 June 2012
}}{{full citation needed|date=May 2024|reason=Volume & page nrs.}}

* {{cite book
 |last=Malone |first=Caroline
 |year = 1989
 |title = Avebury
 |publisher = B.T. Batsford and [[English Heritage]]
 |location=London, UK
 |isbn=0-7134-5960-3
}}

* {{cite book
 |last1 = Leary |first1 = Jim
 |last2 = Field |first2 = David
 |year = 2010
 |title = The Story Of Silbury Hill
 |publisher = [[English Heritage]]
 |place = Swindon, UK
}}

* {{cite book
 |last1 = Oliver |first1 = Neil
 |year = 2012
 |title = A History of Ancient Britain
 |publisher = Phoenix
 |isbn = 978-0-7538-2886-1
}}

* {{cite report
 |last1 = Vatcher |first1 = Faith de M.
 |last2 = Vatcher |first2 = Lance
 |year = 1976
 |title = The Avebury Monuments
 |publisher = Department of the Environment / HMSO
 |place = UK
}}

{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* {{cite web
 |title = Silbury Hill
 |website = [[English Heritage]]
 |url = https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/silbury-hill/
}}

* {{cite AV media
 |title = Going inside Silbury Hill
 |date = 4 January 2008
 |medium = video
 |publisher = BBC Wiltshire
 |url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire/content/articles/2008/01/04/silbury_hill_video_feature.shtml
}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:English Heritage sites in Wiltshire]]
[[Category:Hills of Wiltshire]]
[[Category:Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Wiltshire]]
[[Category:Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1965]]
[[Category:Stone Age sites in Wiltshire]]
[[Category:Artificial hills]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Wiltshire]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in England]]