Cerne Giant in Dorset, England Dates from Anglo-Saxon Times, Analysis Suggests
upstart writes:
Cerne Giant in Dorset dates from Anglo-Saxon times, analysis suggests:
Sand samples examined by National Trust experts indicate hillside chalk figure was created in the 10th century
[...] Over the centuries the huge, naked, club-wielding giant carved into a steep hillside in Dorset has been thought prehistoric, Celtic, Roman or even a 17th century lampoon of Oliver Cromwell.
After 12 months of new, hi-tech sediment analysis, the National Trust has now revealed the probable truth and experts admit they are taken aback. The bizarre, enigmatic Cerne Giant is none of the above, but late Saxon, possibly 10th century.
Martin Papworth, a senior archaeologist at the trust, said he was somewhat "flabbergasted ... He's not prehistoric, he's not Roman, he's sort of Saxon, into the medieval period. I was expecting 17th century."
The geoarchaeologist Mike Allen, who has been researching microscopic snails in the sediment, agreed. "This is not what was expected," he said. "Many archaeologists and historians thought he was prehistoric or post-medieval, but not medieval. Everyone was wrong, and that makes these results even more exciting."
The research has involved studying samples, which show when individual grains of sand in the sediment were last exposed to sunlight. Material from the deepest layer suggest a date range of 700-AD1100.
It was in the middle of that date range, AD978, that Cerne Abbey was founded nearby.
[...] At 180ft (55 metres) the Cerne Giant is Britain's largest, rudest and as a result best-known chalk hill figure. He is also the most mysterious.
Wikipedia entry on Cerne Abbas Giant (with picture).
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