Major discovery by Pete G?

Silbaby 17

Image by nigelswift

jimit May 2, 2004 10:19:26

Out at Avebury on May Day with Pete and Nigel chattering about HA business when Pete asked whether we had seen the large mound at W Kennet, a mini Silbury. "Whaaaat!" we said!" Come and have a look"
When you know where it is it is so bleeding obvious it's amazing that it is not better known.
Imagine walking down from W Ken barrow with Silbury on your left, cast your eyes the same angle to the right and there it is, nestling against the slope of Waden Hill.
The first thing you notice is that the profile is very similar to Silbury with a dead flat top and the same angled sides.
Closer to, a beautiful spring issues from the left side, encircles the hill closely and joins a larger pond to the right (Excavated?). It is obvious at this distance that it cannot just be a truncated spur of Waden Hill as the steepness of the sides don't match anything else nearby.
Streetmap below gives the location..just to the right of the "S" of the MS mark.
Try lining up a straight edge from Silbury to the new mound and you might be quite surprised where you end up!
Hopefully some pics from Pete and Nigel soon although Nigel was so gobsmacked he wants to have its babies....

http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=410595&y=168360&z=3&sv=410500,168500&st=4&ar=Y&mapp=newmap.srf&searchp=newsearch.srf&dn=748

Pete G May 2, 2004 13:57:19

Replying to jimit

I've searched through my books and cannot find a name for the mound or the spring.
I have a panoramic of the hill here
http://aveburytour.mysite.freeserve.com/Silbury/MiniSilburyA.htm
but I'm currently having problems uploading new pages.
Stukeley did a sketch of the area and draws a circle like a pond barrow cut in half by the roman road.
Its obviously not a pond barrow and it very much a mini silbury to my eyes.
Anyone want to put a name to the spring or the mound?
PeteG

Tim Bucktoo May 2, 2004 20:33:19

Replying to jimit

Your URL did not work on my computer. Could you post a picyure to TMA?

wideford May 2, 2004 21:00:12

Replying to jimit

For others looking the NGR is SU106883 (ArchSearch is down tonight).

nigelswift May 2, 2004 23:36:22

Replying to jimit

In case anyone thinks Pete and Jim have gone nuts, can I just add confirmation.
Park at WKLB carpark, walk to the bridge, turn left and walk a couple of hundred yards and look back at the road, which is high up at that point. It's there, hard up against the bank, with trees and scrubby bushes on it and with the rear bit cut away but unmistakable.

OK, I presume it's known about but not by the general public, which is absolutely extraordinary.

Why? Well imagine a scaled down Silbury, cut off to a flat platform one third of the way up, with a circular moat round the front half of it full of clear water in which you can see the spring bubbling up. Imagine it has sloping sides at the same angle as Silbury and adjoining it is a dead flat flood plain of the Kennet, just like Silbury.
Imagine this, the third largest construction in the Avebury landscape, just sitting there, unregarded by the thousands of people walking the path up to WKLB...

This is just bizarre. I recommend everyone goes and looks urgently, in case all three of us are collectively mad...

I have some really good photos but can't post them until a name is found.

wideford May 3, 2004 17:43:48

Replying to jimit

I was wondering if this might not be the Swallow Head, that originally the springs sprang from inder here. Which might explain the present lack of an old name for it, continuing only in the spring originally named after it ?

goffik May 4, 2004 06:58:38

Replying to jimit

Just a thought - has anyone contacted EH to see if there is already an "official" name for it?

How about "Goffik Hill"? Might attract the wrong sort of crowd, I s'pose... ;o)

G x

Pete G May 4, 2004 17:47:50

Replying to jimit

I found a mention in A History of Wiltshire Vol1 Pt1 P216.
'Disk Barrows, Avebury, Waden hill (SE end) approx 10906836. In Stukeley's time it showed as a disk barrow partly cut by Roman road. Destroyed.'
PeteG

Vybik Jon Nov 30, 2004 16:51:49

Replying to jimit

*bump*