A guest feature by Littlestone
In a last ditch attempt to save Silbury from collapse, English Heritage undertook a ‘conservation’ project during 2007-2008 to stabilise the structure and remove the detritus of previous tunnelling. Sadly, not only has much of this detritus been left within the structure, but parts of the original monument (eg the sarsen stones pictured below) seem not to have been returned to their original position within Silbury Hill. The present location of these stones, the meaning of which has attracted some speculation, remains unknown.
Sarsen stones from the interior of Silbury
If that were not bad enough, English Heritage has introduced even more detritus into the monument in the form of thousands of plastic sacks filled with chalk rubble; these sacks were used to form partitions within the Atikinson/BBC tunnel so that the area behind each partition could be backfilled with a chalk slurry. One is force to ask why plastic sacking was used instead of blocks of chalk closer in composition to the mound itself. We have no idea at present how long the life span of these sacks is nor whether they pose any long-term hazard to the monument as they break down.
Perhaps English Heritage would care to comment here on their decision to use plastic sacking rather than chalk blocks – a decision which seems so at odds with accepted conservation principles.
Plastic sacking used for partitioning within the Atkinson/BBC tunnel
The Heritage Journal 
2 comments
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21/07/2010 at 17:14
fachtna
Hello – in another context English Heritage has finally put the following paragraphs on its Silbury Hill web pages:
‘The Conservation Project
English Heritage commissioned Skanska Civil Engineering to undertake works to stabilise Silbury Hill.
The archaeological element of the Silbury Hill Conservation Project was managed by Fachtna McAvoy between 2000 and 13th September 2007. From the 15th of June 2007 the archaeological work was directed by Jim Leary. Sarah May was the Project Manager between September 2007 and November 2008, and Brian Kerr was the Project Executive during this period. After November 2008 Jim Leary took over Project Management and Sarah May became the Project Executive. The Silbury Hill Conservation Project was under the overall project management of Rob Harding during the whole period and Amanda Chadburn was the Inspector for Ancient Monuments.’
This EH statement can be taken to mean that I was actively ‘managing’ the archaeological project until the 13th September 2007.
In the light of the conservation concerns expressed above (Sacking at Silbury) I should like to state that this was certainly not the case.
Indeed I was forbidden to even visit Silbury during the course of the conservation work after the 15th June 2007.
fachtna
22/07/2010 at 11:19
Littlestone
Good to read you weren’t involved with the decision to use plastic sacking (though one wonders who was) at Silbury. Looks to me like a decision made on cost-saving grounds, with little regard for proper conservation practice. As a (paintings) conservator myself it would be akin to taking the cheap way out and using off-the-shelf acrylic paint instead of genuine mineral-based pigments for in-painting. In other words unforgivable, and possibly with disastrous consequences). Sorry to read that you, were, “…forbidden to even visit Silbury during the course of the conservation work after the 15th June 2007.” You and I haven’t met but I’ve seen and heard you speak, and you have struck me as being genuinely concerned for the history and archaeology of Silbury, while advocating correct methods for its conservation.
Wishing you well.