Silbury Hill: the largest prehistoric mound in Europe

Silbury Hill is an enigmatic Neolithic round-mound. It was surrounded by a large ‘ditch’ that has now largely backfilled but still becomes flooded during winter. It is neither sepulchral nor defensive in function and hence assumed to be ritual or ceremonial in use. ‘Mound’ is a misleading term for this complex and carefully assembled monument that took an estimated 55–155 years to construct using around 78,500 shed antler-picks and was completed around 2300 BC: a taste of the mass of new data contained within this book.