Silbury Hill, located a stone’s throw from West Kennet Long Barrow, is the largest artificial, prehistoric mound in Europe. It is believed to have been built sometime between 2470 and 2350 BC; making it around 4,400 years old. Its purpose to the Neolithic people who built it unknown and no burial has ever been found inside. It is comparative in volume and size to the Egyptian pyramids.
The Romans built a settlement around the base of the mound, with a road running past it, and a structure may have been built on the top during the medieval period.
Unfortunately, due to three excavations that were not properly handled between 1776 and 1970, a 14 metre crater opened on the summit in May 2000. It was made off-limits to the public, and only a few people were allowed to access the mound due to safety concerns, including my late friend Terry, the Arch Druid of Avebury, who would go up there to work the energies. It was filled with polystyrene before further research was carried out around 2007. Eventually it was filled with chalk. The summit is still officially off-limits, but you can walk around the base of the hill.
Folklore says that it is the resting place of King Sil, who lies beneath the mound, with the hill encasing a life-sized gold statue of him astride his horse.
It was also said that the Devil created the mound. He was on his way to Marlborough to bury it under a heap of earth when he met a cobbler carrying a bag of worn out shoes. The Devil, who never seems to quite know what he’s doing when it comes to these schemes, asked the cobbler how far it was to Marlborough. The clever cobbler replied that it was so far away he’d worn out all the shoes trying to reach it. Dismayed, the Devil just dropped the earth where he stood, creating Silbury Hill.
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