Chalk giant is Anglo-Saxon instead of prehistoric

Chalk giant is Anglo-Saxon instead of prehistoric

The giant of Cerne Abbas seen from the air. (Image: National Trust)

On a hill in the English county of Dorset sits a 55-meter-tall giant carved into the chalk underground. When this chalk image was created, however, was unclear until now – the range of assumptions ranged from the Stone Age to the late Middle Ages. Now new dates show: The chalk giant by Cerne Abbas is around 1000 years old and thus comes from the time of the Anglo-Saxons.

The chalk giant from Cerne Abbas in the county of Dorset is one of the most famous chalk figures in England. The 55-meter-high figure of a man with a club in his right hand stands out as a white chalk outline against the green grass of the hillside. The roughly 60 centimeters wide lines are cut deep into the sward and sprinkled with light-colored limestone gravel. They have to be renewed every few years and any vegetation removed so that they do not overgrow.

Age and meaning puzzles

Unlike the prehistoric scratching image of the white horse from Uffington in Oxfordshire, the age and importance of the giant by Cerne Abbas are controversial. The chalk giant is first mentioned in 1694 in the notes of a church minister who reported the maintenance of the “giant”. How long the scratch pattern existed at this point in time is unknown. According to some hypotheses it goes back to the Celts, according to others it was not engraved until after the conquest of England by the Normans in 1066 in honor of William the Conqueror or represents the church reformer Oliver Cromwell. Also theories according to which this giant the demigod Hercules represents or a mythical giant, are discussed.

Now the most modern methods of dating have given more information about the age of the chalk giant. A team led by Phillip Toms from the University of Gloucestershire took samples of the sediment at various points on the scratching lines from a depth of up to one meter. The granules were then subjected to optically stimulated luminescence dating (OSL). The minerals in the grains are stimulated by light and then emit photons of a certain frequency. These provide information about when these minerals were first exposed to sunlight. In the case of the scratch pattern, the values ​​therefore reveal when the outlines of the giant were first scratched into the sward.

From the time of the Anglo-Saxons

The analyzes showed: “The archaeological layers reached surprisingly deep – people must have renewed this scratching pattern over and over again over a very long time,” explains archaeologist Martin Papworth of the National Trust. “The deepest samples of the giant’s elbows and feet tell us, however, that it could not have been created before the time around 700. This rules out theories according to which it is said to be of prehistoric or Roman origin. ”The chalk giant from Cerne Abbas is definitely not a contemporary of the famous white horse from Uffington.

Instead, according to new dates, the giant from Cerne Abas comes from the Anglo-Saxon period. “This puts the origin of the scratching pattern in a relatively dramatic part of the history of Cerne,” explains Papworth. Because during this time the change from pagan to Christian faith took place. “The nearby Abbey of Cerne was founded in 987 and, according to some, this was done to dissuade the people living here from worshiping an early Anglo-Saxon god called ‘Heil’ or ‘Helith’ and to convert them to Christianity.” Archaeologists might suggest that the chalk giant, created shortly before that time, was possibly supposed to represent this Anglo-Saxon god.

(Video: National Trust)

Overgrown in the meantime?

However, it is still unclear why the giant did not appear in any of the medieval records for centuries. “Documents from the Abbey of Cerne do not mention the giant. Throughout the 16th century, it’s as if these giants didn’t exist, ”says Papworth. He suspects that the image carved into the hill during the Anglo-Saxon period was no longer tended to after the conversion of the local population to Christianity and was therefore overgrown with grass and forgotten. “A few hundred years later – perhaps when the sun was low – people saw the faint outlines of this figure on the hill and decided to scratch it up again,” says the archaeologist. “That would explain why he doesn’t appear in the abbey records or Tudor-era documents.”

Gordon Bishop, director of the Cerne Historical Society added: “These results are as surprising as they are exciting. What personally pleases me is that these results put an end to the hypothesis, according to which the Scharr picture was only created in the 17th century as a mockery of Oliver Cromwell. I always thought that demeaned the chalk giant, ”said Bishop. Now it is becoming apparent, however, that this giant could probably have had a religious significance, albeit a pagan one. “Obviously there is still a lot for us to do in the next few years”. Archaeologist Martin Papworth sees it similarly: “Future research could tell us how the giant has changed over time and whether our theory of the ‘lost years’ is correct. The chalk giant has still kept many of its secrets. “

Source: National Trust

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