Silbury Hill
Part of the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site, Silbury Hill is the tallest prehistoric man-made mound in Europe. Constructed some 4,400 years ago, it stands 40 metres high and has a diameter of 167m at its base. Archaeologists calculate that it took 18 million man-hours using stone-age tools (equivalent to 500 people working for 15 years) to deposit and shape 248,000 cubic metres of chalk fill. Yet its purpose remains unknown.
What makes this truncated chalk cone of interest to landscape photographers? The designers of Silbury Hill placed it very carefully in the landscape, adjacent to the source of the River Kennet. It is a prominent landmark from a surprising variety of locations, such as nearby Waden Hill (to the east), Windmill Hill (two miles to the north) and Milk Hill (two and a half miles to the south). When walking along the ancient Ridgeway on Overton Hill, more than a mile to the east, the top of Silbury Hill remains just visible, peeping over the top of Waden Hill. This is surely no accident. Silbury Hill was designed to be seen. Perhaps that makes it Wiltshire’s oldest folly?
What makes this truncated chalk cone of interest to landscape photographers? The designers of Silbury Hill placed it very carefully in the landscape, adjacent to the source of the River Kennet. It is a prominent landmark from a surprising variety of locations, such as nearby Waden Hill (to the east), Windmill Hill (two miles to the north) and Milk Hill (two and a half miles to the south). When walking along the ancient Ridgeway on Overton Hill, more than a mile to the east, the top of Silbury Hill remains just visible, peeping over the top of Waden Hill. This is surely no accident. Silbury Hill was designed to be seen. Perhaps that makes it Wiltshire’s oldest folly?
