The Cerne Giant is a rampant, naked 60 metre male carved into the chalk hillside near Cerne Abbas, an old village about 8 miles [13kms] north of Dorchester, in Dorset. The picture shows as much of the giant as you will currently see unless you rent air transport; the carving becomes a lot more indistinct from close up. For scale you can see a couple of hikers at the top of the hill on the left.
There are three main theories as to when and why the giant was produced.
1) He was cut out 4,000 years ago in honour of a Celtic fertility god, Cernunnos. Above his head is a maypole mound that was central to pagan May Day festivities until 1635, when the church decided that the wild, all-night, get naked scenes that were enjoyed by locals in the adjacent woods should be discouraged.
Legend said that barren couples who wish for children should copulate on the giant genitalia.
2) He was carved 1,500 years ago in honour of the Roman god Hercules.
3) He appeared a mere 350 years ago and is a caricature of Oliver Cromwell [1599-1658].
The reason that the giant's origin is unclear is first because the only elements remaining in the area are grass and chalk which have been around for months or millenia, so carbon dating is not an option and second because the earliest written record of the giant that survives was in the 18th century.
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