The Monumental and Mysterious Silbury Hill

Silbury Hill is a prehistoric site located near Stonehenge and Avebury (a Neolithic henge monument) in the southwestern English county of Wiltshire. Silbury Hill has been measured to be 30 m (98.4252 ft.) tall and 160 m (524.93ft.) in width, thus making it the largest artificial earth mound from Europe’s prehistoric period. This structure was constructed mainly of chalk that was excavated from the surrounding area. Today, Silbury Hill is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site known as ‘Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites’.

Silbury Hill’s Construction

Based on radiocarbon dating, the construction of Silbury Hill began at some point of time during the 3rd millennium, which corresponds to the Late Neolithic period in that region. The work on Silbury Hill likely began during the last hundred years of the 25th century BC, and involved three phases.

 According to one interpretation, each of the phases was followed quickly by the next, and that the whole structure could have been completed in a century, perhaps towards the end of the 25th century BC, or around the middle of the 24th century BC.

Alternatively, there is an apparent break between the second and the third phases, indicating that there may had been a pause of a few hundred years. Therefore, according to this interpretation, Silbury Hill was only completed around the 22nd or 21st centuries BC.