The Cerne Giant
Dorset’s famous chalk figure is shrouded in mystery
The chalk hills of southern England are renowned for a number of figures cut into the turf, mostly in the shape of horses. However, some of the figures are very different in nature, and Dorset’s Cerne Giant must surely count as the most remarkable.
The Cerne Giant
This is an outline, with internal details, of a giant man with a huge gnarled club in his right hand. He stands 55 metres (180 feet) tall and his club is 36 metres (118 feet) long. However, it is not the club that is the feature most often commented upon, given that this giant is distinctly X-rated, sporting as he does a massive erect phallus, complete with testicles!
The giant is carved into a west-facing hillside close to the village of Cerne Abbas, and is visible from the main A362 road that runs from Dorchester to Sherborne. Enter “Cerne Giant” into Google Maps and you will soon be able to see him in all his glory!
The mystery is therefore to do with why he is there, who put him there, and when? Also, is he supposed to represent anyone in particular?
An ancient image?
The chalk hills of Dorset were occupied from at least the Bronze Age (c. 2000 BC) and particularly so during the Iron Age (from…
