The Day Silbury Hill Collapsed

This is a great start by Jim Leary if you like a read: www.amazon.co.uk/Story-Silbury-Hill-Jim-Leary/dp/1…

My father used to tell a local folk tale about that hill. A young boy came across the devil carrying a huge mound of dirt. The devil asked the boy how far it was to Avebury because he was going to dump the hill on them to punish their Christian piety. The clever child said he did not know, but would run back and return with the answer. Some time later a very old man limped into view and the devil asked who he was. 'Sir, do you not know me? I am the boy and it has taken all my life to cover the distance to and from. The devil was so angry that he dumped his heavy load at Silbury- and vanished. Avebury was saved.

In my younger days we used to climb it in the middle of the night, drink a couple of beers and watch the stars, you’d get thrown in prison for a decade for that now! We took all evidence with us of course.

Man, I love it when the algorithm serves me up something genuinely interesting. Howdy from Texas, y'all.

In summer 1978 we visited London, listened to our guitar hero Eric Clapton in the Royal Albert Hall and spent one night with our tent in the middle of Stonehenge. Nobody, no police came and made any trouble! That was normal in the phantastic seventies. Best time of our life!!! Many greetings from Germany!

I climbed to the top of Silbury Hill in 1983. It was a few days before my 20th birthday, and something I had always wanted to do. It was very quiet at the top, and the view was phenomenal. I sat up there for about an hour - I didn't want to come down, if I'm honest. It's a beautiful enigma.

Great video. Just some additional info on the 1776 work, they found more than chalk. Towards the bottom of the shaft, but 30 feet above the base they found a deep narrow cavity with timber fragments, which indicates the early stage building was done around a wooden pole - possibly a totem pole. This information came out of the letters written by Drax to Lord Rivers about the excavation. The letters were published in the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine about 15 years ago. But I had no idea about any of this until today, when I had a chat with the museum director David Dawson about it. Quite coincidentally, your video came online some hours later !

I know of a few people who have danced naked round it in the early hours.....well, when I say naked, they were wearing wellies..

Just needs a massive visitors centre, car park, Costa and a gift shop selling wooden swords, tea towels and plastic dinosaurs on sticks to make it truly complete.

After millions spent trying to figure out why this was built it was finally discovered this was a 2500 year old land fill... LOL

I was involved in the 2007/2008 archaeological recording in conjunction with the conservation work. It was by far the most exciting and important archaeology I've done in my career. There are of course far more than three phases of construction, I think the ditches alone showed almost 20 phases.

We used to have wonderful school history trips in the 1970s. In one day we would try and do Uffington Castle/ The White Horse, West Kennet Long Barrow, Silbury Hill and Avebury or Stone Henge. Great fun. They were all impressive to us schoolboys but Silbury Hill was particularly mysterious and of course enigmatic.

meanwhile in 2400 BC... Arthmaros: "where shall I put this excess limestone?" Wirognawos: "just dump it on the pile over there."

I was a lorry driver for over 440 years, and before the M4 was built, the A4 was our route to London, Silbury Hill was a landmark for me, on my way back home. Usually after a stop at the ridgeway Cafe, a couple of miles to the East of Silbury Hill. I hope the ancient Hill is stabilised

Must be getting on for 35 years since I walked up there with friends and encountered a group celebrating Beltane

A man-made pile of chalk. The writing was on the wall that it would be affected by the weather. I guess it is back to the drawing board for the conservators... (I'll see myself out)

"“Come, let us build ourselves a chalk mound that we may make a name for ourselves."

I love how they televised things like the digging of the tunnel in 1968. Television stretching its wings with a sense of academic excitement. Marvellous. Very interesting video once again. Thank you Paul.

6:37 - the Cowslips have been magnificent this year - best I've ever seen them.

My primary school self (~10 years old) climbed Silbury Hill on a school trip from Wales over 50 years ago. A really memorable trip, for the two punctures the coach got, followed by a complete electrical failure as we set off for home. We ended up in a pub car park; we were allowed in to use the loo, and refreshments were provided (squash and sandwiches), and when the replacement coach arrived we got home at 2am.