UP! - North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

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Can you spot the difference? That’s right, no poles – thanks to a mole! FREQUENT travellers along the A4 entering the Avebury World Heritage Site have a ‘mole’ to thank for the removal of ugly electricity poles and cables that were cluttering this ancient landscape. A giant directional drilling machine known as a ‘mole’ was used to burrow more than four metres deep to ensure replacement cables could be laid underground and well away from internationally significant archaeology. Scottish and Southern Electricity, who funded the project, employed archaeologists to monitor the work and examine the moling entry and exit points for archaeological evidence. New underground cables now lie out of sight under the Overton Hill Bronze Age barrow cemetery and beneath the Neolithic West Kennet Avenue, which originally linked Avebury Stone Circle to the Sanctuary. The partnership project also involved Wiltshire Council Archaeology Service, the National Trust, North Wessex Downs AONB, English Heritage and local farmers. Sarah Simmonds, Wiltshire Council’s Avebury World Heritage Site Officer, said: “Winning private sector funding has helped us work together to achieve really impressive improvements at the gateway to the World Heritage Site. The prehistoric monuments are now returned to prominence in beautiful open downland and the landscape is closer to its ancient appearance.” ■ 26 | UP! On The North Wessex Downs
New work on some very old work A COMPREHENSIVE new book, The Story of Silbury Hill, written by archaeologists involved in the 2007 conservation project, has been published by English Heritage. At 130ft (40m) high and weighing in at a calculated half a million tons, Silbury Hill is the largest prehistoric artificial mound in Europe. It was under construction between circa 2,400 and 2,300 BC in the later Neolithic period along with the Avebury henge, stone circles and avenues. Silbury Hill is one of the key monuments that qualify the area to appear on the UNESCO World Heritage List. ■ www.english-heritageshop.org.uk Tel: 0845 458 9910 ISBN: 9781848020467 Ogbourne St George, Marlborough Wiltshire, SN8 1SL Tel: 01672 841555 Fax: 01672 841533 PARKLANDS HOTEL & Bentley’s Brasserie ● A Family business built on a good reputation over the last 11 trading years for quality & reliability. ● Book a peaceful stay with us in a hotel which combines the modern, contemporary finishes in a building dating to the 18th century. ● Our restaurant caters for non residents too; visit our website for more details. www.parklandshoteluk.co.uk enquiries@parklandshoteluk.co.uk Helicopter help..... SILBURY Hill was the subject of a minor ‘air rescue’ last October. This was no emergency however, but planned backfilling of a shaft dug during an eighteenth century exploration. The shaft first collapsed in 2000 and conservation work designed to stabilise Silbury Hill was undertaken by English Heritage in 2007. A survey during 2010 indicated some settlement of the chalk slurry used to backfill the shaft. The helicopter lifted additional chalk and subsoil to the top of Silbury Hill. A Natural England-approved seed mix was sown to complete the work. ■ UP! On The North Wessex Downs | 27
Page 1 and 2: EXPLORE | WILTSHIRE | OXFORDSHIRE |
Page 3 and 4: CONTENTS 4-5 Sustainable Developmen
Page 5 and 6: ■ White horses and hill figures w
Page 7 and 8: Cut to directions called out from b
Page 9 and 10: Windows into the past Restoration w
Page 11 and 12: Meet one of the busiest workers in
Page 13 and 14: Yellowhammer Picture: Tom Marshall
Page 15 and 16: set his Wind in the Willows childre
Page 17 and 18: allenge of managing the AONB OVERSE
Page 19 and 20: heartland disuse, a victim of rail
Page 21 and 22: Or by email: infonorthwessexdowns.o
Page 23 and 24: From software ...to basketware IT e
Page 25: Fruit tree harvesting reaches its p
Page 29 and 30: Stooks of corn Picture: BlueSky ima
Page 31 and 32: Russell Kilvington CAMILLA AND ROLY
Page 33 and 34: Wild flowers PRESERVES CHURCH LANE
Page 35 and 36: GARLANDS ORGANIC Contact: Innes and
Page 37 and 38: underside of the bespoke work. All
Page 39 and 40: The From man software to read who l
Page 41 and 42: munities and businesses a service f
Page 43 and 44: Things look better in the dark! “
Page 45 and 46: y style The technology for using al
Page 47 and 48: Environmental Property Management &

UP! - North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

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