Silbury Hill

Abstract

Silbury is the largest ancient man-made mound in Europe. It stands beside the Bath Road (A4) in north Wiltshire, about six miles west of Marlborough. It forms a regular truncated cone, with a flat top 100 ft. (30.5 m.) in diameter and 130 ft. (40 m.) high above the surrounding meadows. The base covers about 5.25 acres (2.1 hectares). A little below the top the profile is broken by a marked step or terrace; and there are traces of what may have been similar terraces lower down, on the north and east sides. It may be that the mound was built originally in the form of a stepped cone.