Eternal Idol

Silbury is the sleeping giant of prehistoric archaeology. Its megalithic cousin, Stonehenge, which stands about sixteen miles to the south, is an open book by comparison with this stupendous, enigmatic mound. Indeed, Silbury is so enormous that it was described by one awestruck writer in 1776 as an artificial mountain, while treasure hunters have been desperately tunnelling into it for over two hundred years in the belief that it is a colossal barrow, or the ancient burial mound of a king.

Mike Pitts, editor of British Archaeology, describes it as a pyramid on page 191 of his book Hengeworld. This notion is echoed in an official 2002 English Heritage study, written by David Field, where the computer models and plans clearly show a regular nine-sided pyramid of immense size, sophistication and antiquity. Silbury was built at around the same time as some of the Mesopotamian ziggurats, while the comparison with these eastern structures is further enhanced by the flat platform at the summit. Silbury and the ziggurats have various other features in common that are well worth remarking on, but we shall come to these in good time.

In our modern era, there are many similarities between Silbury and North America’s most famous site of legendary treasure, the Oak Island Money Pit, although these have never been remarked upon before.

Both sites were first explored for treasure just over two hundred years ago.
Both sites continue to be the subject of physical investigations and explorations.
Both sites are still rumoured to be the locations of fabulous missing treasure.
Both sites have had their central features largely destroyed by repeated digging.
The interior of Silbury contains holes for posts that may have been fashioned from oak, while Colonel Drax, the first known person to dig into Silbury in search of treasure, reported that he had discovered a remnant of what he termed “a Druid oak”.
Both sites are firmly linked with water as part of their structure – Silbury was once surrounded by a huge moat.
Both sites continue to hide whatever gold or treasure may lie hidden there, defeating the efforts of modern technology and excavators.
Both sites have attracted extensive media attention.
Both sites are of uncertain, unascertained or disputed origin.
Silbury is on a World Heritage Site, while efforts are under way to promote Oak Island as a heritage site, due to its cultural appeal.

Present day archaeologists and academics might well affect to sneer at this repeated mention of treasure, but the blunt fact remains that every investigation into Silbury has been motivated by the lure of discovering untold riches in the centre of the hill.

In 1968, the BBC funded an excavation into Silbury and the accompanying pamphlet (reasonably priced at two shillings from BBC Publications) makes great play of a cult of the dead, burial chambers such as nearby West Kennet Long Barrow and the persistent legend of King Zil and his horse being buried under Silbury, “the size of life and of solid gold”. What the BBC publication does not mention is that there are precedents for folklore about riches in barrows having a basis in fact, as we’ve learned from the history of the fearsome Bryn yr Ellyllon or Hill of the Goblins in Wales and the equally feared Rillaton barrow on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall.

I’ve worked on two excavations where gold has come to light and it is a truly astonishing sight to see this precious metal still burning like the sun itself after millennia buried beneath the earth. I’ve seen no reason to doubt that Silbury contains a rich burial or perhaps more than one, but I’ll come on to the details of that in good time.

Over the past year, English Heritage have been conducting archaeological excavations at Silbury in conjunction with the repair work being carried out by the civil engineering firm Skanska, with the project being headed by Mark Kirkbride. You can see the updates given out by English Heritage on this link, while there have also been occasional press reports. It’s a crying shame to dignify them by so much as mentioning them, but it’s fair to say that there have also been observations made about the mound by individuals who are either teetering on the threshold of complete insanity, or else are unashamedly lying through their back teeth. These latter reports were pretty much based on wishful thinking and rapid escorted tours of the inside of the mound, but here at Eternal Idol, we have something radically different to offer.

Despite the scant mention thus far of the monument on this site, I have been intensively studying Silbury and its history for a long, long time. The culmination of this study came on Tuesday, November the thirteenth of this year, when I was invited to study the brooding hill, the tunnels, the archaeological investigations and the repair work at my leisure.

I was to be the very last visitor allowed inside Silbury before work began the next day to repair the mound and seal it off forever.

I spent over three hours there after the English Heritage archaeologists had left for the final time, seeing every inch of the tunnels inside, which you may well think had been pretty much covered by the media day and by the recent BBC 4 documentary on Silbury Hill. However, thanks to the generosity, professionalism and, it has to be said, the bravery of the Skanska personnel who were there with me, I saw parts of the interior of Silbury Hill that few human eyes had seen before, while it’s entirely accurate to say that more people have been on the surface of the Moon than have ventured where I did.

In the process, I learned a very great deal about this most enigmatic of human constructions, including the discovery on the final day of a tooth in what I’d personally regard as a highly significant position within the hill. There were other surprises lurking inside that have not been remarked upon or made public before, but to cap it all, I had a camera with me, so I’ve successfully captured my entire visit on film, with clear sound as an accompaniment.

It’s a problem to know where to begin, that much is certain, but it will all see the light of day when I’m best able to present it in its best light and do it full justice.