ROMAN SETTLEMENT DISCOVERED NEAR SILBURY HILL

The newly discovered Roman sacred community right next to Silbury Hill in Southwest England is all the more startling because it lies next to 5,000-year-old Silbury hill, which at 130 feet is Europe's largest man-made prehistoric monument.

The original purpose and use of the Neolithic hill, which took an estimated 20 million man hours to make, still mystifies archaeologists.

Yesterday's announcement by English Heritage indicates that a Roman community was equally taken with the Wiltshire hill and established a sacred settlement in its shadow, some 3,000 years after it was created.

The site straddled the Roman road from London to Bath where it crossed the
Winterbourne River.

But it was more than just a way station for weary travellers. The Romans
were as intrigued by Silbury as people are today, and there is even a
tantalising hint of a temple.

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