Cerne Abbas giant
Type:
Monuments,
Forts and fortresses
Date:
ca. 700 to ca. 1100
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
England
Dimensions:
55 m tall
Description:
This 55-meter-tall naked figure outlined in white chalk occupies a hillside in southern England near a ruined abbey called Cerne (founded in 987). For that reason, the figure has long been called the Cerne Abbas Giant. Until 2021, the date of the Giant was a mystery: other chalk figures of humans and animals in England date to prehistoric times, to Roman antiquity, and to the early modern period. Archaeologists have now determined that the Giant dates to the early medieval era, between ca. 700 and 1100 but probably close to the turn of the tenth century. They analyzed the deepest layer of soil under the chalk outline, about 1 meter below the current surface (continuous re-chalking has made the ground level rise), and Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) of individual quartz grains revealed when they were last exposed to sunshine. No quartz samples were taken from the figure's 8-meter-long penis, but it may be a later addition because there are traces of a belt across the Giant's midsection.
The figure wields a club in his right hand, and a cloak may once have dangled from its outstretched left arm., but whether it was intended to represent a specific personificiation is unknown. Also unclear is its relationship to the neighboring monastery and its function on the hillside, both originally and in later centuries. The rectangle above the Giant's head echoes the remains of an Iron Age (prehistoric) hill fort.
The figure wields a club in his right hand, and a cloak may once have dangled from its outstretched left arm., but whether it was intended to represent a specific personificiation is unknown. Also unclear is its relationship to the neighboring monastery and its function on the hillside, both originally and in later centuries. The rectangle above the Giant's head echoes the remains of an Iron Age (prehistoric) hill fort.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
5
Image Credits:
Wikimedia Commons
