Snails introduced during medieval times, including Cernuella virgata (pictured), have been found at the site [© Wikimedia Commons]
Posted on 07/13/2020 8:22:45 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
...The earliest recorded mention of the Cerne Abbas Giant, which was gifted to the National Trust in 1920 by the Pitt-Rivers family, was in 1694.
Local folklore has long held the 180ft (55m) chalk man to be a fertility aid.
Early antiquarians linked the giant with the Anglo-Saxon deity Helis, others have said he is the classical hero Hercules, while some believe he was carved during the English Civil War as a parody of Oliver Cromwell.
A further layer of mystery was revealed in the 1980s when a survey showed anomalies that suggested he originally wore a cloak and stood over a disembodied head.
There has also been a suggestion his significant anatomy is in fact the result of merging a smaller penis with a representation of his navel during a re-cut by the Victorians.
Mr Allen said snail shell testing had also shown the vegetation at the site had changed over time.
"There was a period when the giant was grown over with grass and other vegetation, and disappeared," he said.
"This suggests some people weren't bothered about the giant or felt he was too rude so left him...
However, the soil tests, using a technique called optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), are due in the autumn.
They would give a more accurate age of the giant as they would "determine when mineral grains in soil were last exposed to sunlight", Mr Papworth previously said.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
Snails introduced during medieval times, including Cernuella virgata (pictured), have been found at the site [© Wikimedia Commons]
On May 23rd, 1996, a mock trial was held in the town of Cerne Abbas to settle once and for all the question of the giant's age. A jury listened to different arguments before voting for one of them... When the jury cast its votes, 50% of them stuck with the traditional ancient-origin theory, and 35% of them sided with Hutton and Betty. 15% felt that the giant's age was unimportant.
The Cerne Abbas Giant
Was the jury all women by any chance?
A podcast I listen to was discussing this a few weeks or months ago. I wish I could remember which podcast it was. It’s somewhat of an interesting topic.
Huh. I thought the Hill Figure’s name was Tommy. I always heard of Tommy Hill Figure, anyway.
I read decades ago that it was proved to be a Roman era figure of Hercules and examination showed a lion skin, no longer visible, over his out stretched arm.
AKA The Rude Man.
#5/ I suspect it was modeled after the famous pirate Long Slong Silver. I could be wrong, but...
Maybe he is one of the Hard-On Boys from the mystery series.
Definitely not a portrait of a ruptured Chinaman - One Hung Lo.
Definitely not a portrait of Sen. Little Dickless Durbin.
Could be Rep. Adam Schiff with his House Committee’s official staff.
Tagline
That’s one big club....
And he’s happy to see you
Snail shell testing. I did not know there was such a thing.
The figure has been unofficially altered several times before, most recently during the coronavirus pandemic when it was given a mask ..................
Congratulations, you have *won this topic* !!! :^D.
“And upon the third hour of the night, the time of deepest sleep, he dreamed that he saw the goddess before him, speaking in this manner: “Brutus,” she said, “beneath the setting of the sun, beyond the land of Gaul, there lies an island in the sea in which giants once lived. It is empty now. Go there, for it is set aside for you and your descendants. And it shall be for your children like a second Troy, and kings shall be born of your line unto whom the whole earth shall pay homage!”
- Prophecy of the Oracle of Diana to Brutus, from Tysillio’s Chronicle of the Early Britons
It exists, although the snail shells still score well behind the Asian students.
I remember the Celtic Hercules (Ogmios) hypothesis for the Cerne Giant, but clearly nothing had been proved about it.
Heh... medieval precursor to fake news... my favorite is the Mabinogeon.
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