246 Recent Huplorations at Silbury Hill. 
existence of the primary heaping of the mound, through the centre 
of which, or very nearly so, the elevated tunnel was cut. 
*“‘ At the floor of this, was traceable the line of the original turf 
of the natural hill, and it was clear to demonstration that this had 
not been cut through. No cist, therefore, had been found below 
that line in any part yet examined. One thing is manifest, that 
the examination of 1777 did not hit the actual centre of the tumulus, 
whilst we had excavated its very core.” 
Now, had this mound been erected simply as a monument, we 
should expect to find it placed on an elevated situation, where it 
could be seen from afar; but, on the contrary, it was erected upon 
very low ground, at the very bottom of a gently rising down, and 
this fact has been referred to by Duke, who, in his “ Druidic 
Temples,” says :—“ This peculiar spot is a hollow nearly surrounded 
on all sides with moderately rising ground,” and also by the Rev. 
A. C. Smith, who, in his “ Silbury,” says :— Standing as it does 
on comparatively low ground, and surrounded with undulating 
downs, which tower above it, very limited indeed is the view from 
the summit.” Had it been raised on the summit of one of these 
“undulating downs” it would have been visible for many miles 
around. The barrows in this neighbourhood are situated on the 
hill tops, and form remarkably prominent objects in the landscape. 
A special survey of Silbury Hill has been made for me by 
Messrs. Ashmead & Son, of Bristol, and the accompanying plates 
are copied from the plans prepared by them. It will be seen that 
the boundary line of the excavated area (from whence all the ma- 
terial used for building the hill was obtained) extends in the form 
of a circle neariy surrounding the base of Silbury Hill at a distance 
of about a hundred feet on the north and east, but on the west it 
includes a much larger area. The southern boundary of the meadow 
west of the hill, is a steep escarpment formed by the removal of the 
chalk from the rising down. Here chalk has been removed to a 
depth of over 40ft. from the original surface of the down (as shown 
on Plan 2). 
On the south of the mound, a deep trench separates the mound 
from the adjacent high ground, but across this trench a narrow 
