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sacrifices, or that the structure was a Temple to Mercury, a giant
sundial, an astronomical observatory,
a symbolic representation of the
Mother Goddess, a power source for
passing alien spaceships, or a center
for meetings and legal proceedings. In
fact, fairs did once take place on the
summit of the Silbury Hill, but that
was in the 18th century.
    One feature of the massive
earthwork which seems to point to a
ritual function is a possible spiral path
climbing up the structure. A new
theory (evidence for which was revealed by a 3-dimensional seismic survey undertaken in 2001) goes against
Richard Atkinson's hypothesis of construction in flat layers for the mound,
suggesting rather that Atkinson's
steps may actually be a spiralling
ledge. This spiral may have served the
dual purpose of an access route to the
summit during construction and a
pathway to the top for ritual processions. This idea would also link with
the profusion of the spiral motif
in Neolithic art, as seen for example
at the temple/tomb at Newgrange in
Ireland. That the mound had some kind of religious significance is given
credence by its setting within the complex of ritual, funerary, and ceremonial monuments in the area around
Avebury; which itself lies only 20 miles
north of the roughly contemporary
monument at Stonehenge.

    The huge ditch surrounding Silbury,
probably once intentionally filled with
water, may be further evidence of a
ritual function. In the early summer of
2001, a huge straight-edged 33 foot
wide mark in the vegetation was identified, extending towards the ditch of
the Silbury mound. The vegetation or
crop mark indicates a deep man-made
ditch under the soil, possibly-as some
archaeologists believe-built to channel water from local springs into the
moat at Silbury Hill. Ditches around
prehistoric sites, such as henges and
hillforts, may not have always been dug
for practical purposes, but could also
have had a less tangible function, such
as a barrier to separate the religious
from the mundane, or to protect the
site from malign influences. The site
of the Silbury monument is also interesting. When originally built, Silbury
Hill would probably have been a brilliant white structure surrounded by a
shimmering moat. However, rather
than placing such an awe-inspiring
structure on a hill where it could be
seen for miles around, its builders
placed Silbury in a valley, so it barely
protrudes above the horizon, and is
hardly visible from most of the surrounding monuments. Perhaps this
indicates that the ground on which the
structure was erected was as important as the building itself, though its
lowland setting does emphasise its
huge size.
    Intriguingly, Silbury Hill seems to
have retained its importance as a sacred site long after it was built. Excavations at the hill have revealed a
large amount of Roman finds, including a ritual platform cutting into the
mound, more than 100 Roman coins
in the surrounding ditch, and many
Roman shafts and wells. On the adjacent Waden Hill, a Romano-British
settlement has been discovered, which
suggests (along with the finds on
Silbury Hill itself) that Silbury was
still a sacred site in the Roman period.
There are fascinating parallels here
with Newgrange, which also retained
ritual significance into the Roman period. The religious attraction of Silbury
seems to have continued into the medieval period, as is suggested by finds
of pottery, iron nails, an iron spearhead, and a coin of King Ethelred II
(dating to A.D. 1010) at the site. The iron
nails were found inside small holes
that had been dug for wooden posts,
at first thought to indicate a defensive
structure-perhaps a fort on the hill.
However, these post holes were located on the inside of the terraces,
which would mean that they served as
revetment rather than defense. Further work on the hill will surely reveal more evidence of medieval
interest in Silbury.
    Unfortunately,