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<< Our Photo Pages >> Long Man of Wilmington - Hill Figure or Geoglyph in England in East Sussex

Submitted by Andy B on Friday, 19 May 2023  Page Views: 49604

Date UncertainSite Name: Long Man of Wilmington
Country: England County: East Sussex Type: Hill Figure or Geoglyph
Nearest Town: Eastbourne
Map Ref: TQ543035  Landranger Map Number: 199
Latitude: 50.810507N  Longitude: 0.188725E
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
 4 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
 3 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
 3

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Catrinm visited on 22nd Mar 2019 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 4

Harmudge visited on 1st Jan 2016 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 4 Access: 3

XIII saw from a distance on 11th Aug 2015 - their rating: Amb: 4 Access: 3

jonm visited on 16th Sep 2012 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 4

custer visited on 5th Apr 2012 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 4 Good walk around the top of the hill car park and toilets available at priory. Figure marked out with concrete blocks, fantastic views. lots of additional earthworks around the site at bottom of hill and on top.

Klingon saw from a distance on 19th Jul 2011 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 3

graemefield saw from a distance on 27th Jun 2011 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4

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Long Man of Wilmington
Long Man of Wilmington submitted by feardhaigh : Long Man, Wilmington (Vote or comment on this photo)
The Long Man lies on the north-facing scarp slope of Windover Hill in East Sussex. He stands holding a long staff in each hand. The western staff is 72 metres long and there is a distance of over 30 metres between the two staff. Until 1873 the figure was reported as a faint indentation in the turf, visible only in low sunlight. In 1873-74 the outline was marked out in bricks. In 1969 these were replaced with pre-cast concrete blocks which still delineate the figure.

The figure is outlined in white on the hillside, with no recognizable facial or anatomical features.

Page originally by Vicky
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Long Man of Wilmington
Long Man of Wilmington submitted by dodomad : Wilmington Giant - one of a set of illustrations by Eric Ravilious, featuring hill figures from the south-east and south-west of England, all painted in 1939, and intended to illustrate a children’s book he was working on for Puffin. Now available as a set of postcards from Rather Good Art. The book got as far as the mock-up stage by 1942, but sadly never reached completion. Ravilious... (1 comment - Vote or comment on this photo)

Long Man of Wilmington
Long Man of Wilmington submitted by Feanor : 19 September 2017 (1 comment - Vote or comment on this photo)

Long Man of Wilmington
Long Man of Wilmington submitted by ainsloch : American magic lantern slide, dated 1910. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Long Man of Wilmington
Long Man of Wilmington submitted by custer : The Long Man (Vote or comment on this photo)

Long Man of Wilmington
Long Man of Wilmington submitted by Klingon : (Vote or comment on this photo)

Long Man of Wilmington
Long Man of Wilmington submitted by Andy B : Jon Morris posing for a silly photo at the Long Man. More details of Jon M's experiment to measure the size of the world here.

Long Man of Wilmington
Long Man of Wilmington submitted by Antonine : 2008

Long Man of Wilmington
Long Man of Wilmington submitted by Antonine : 2016

Long Man of Wilmington
Long Man of Wilmington submitted by NickyD : image This is taken from the lane by the churchyard with the ancient yew. There''s a couple of pictures of the yew on my Flickr account if you''re interested in seeing it! Image copyright: stonesearcher, hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API.

Long Man of Wilmington
Long Man of Wilmington submitted by StoneLee : Longer than he looks

Long Man of Wilmington
Long Man of Wilmington submitted by Bladup : Long Man of Wilmington.

Long Man of Wilmington
Long Man of Wilmington submitted by jonm : Feature at base of Long Man: Consists of a level platform in line with the flat area at the base of the Long Man. This area extends out from the hillside in a circle with steep sides to the east,north and west. Below the steep sides a second circular flat platform ring protrudes, also with steep sides.

Long Man of Wilmington
Long Man of Wilmington submitted by Klingon :

Long Man of Wilmington
Long Man of Wilmington submitted by hermitano : A side view of the Long Man of Wilmington from the hill above the figure. There is a pleasant walk you can take from Alfriston to Jevington. The tracks visible in the picture were probably made by sheep, not the droves of megalithic travellers! (1 comment)

Long Man of Wilmington
Long Man of Wilmington submitted by wiztwas : (1 comment)

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 107m WNW 286° Long Man Ring Platform* Misc. Earthwork (TQ5419603527)
 132m WNW 293° Long Man Bottom* Round Barrow(s) (TQ5417603547)
 200m S 182° Windover Hill Flint Mines* Ancient Mine, Quarry or other Industry (TQ543033)
 208m SSW 209° Long Man Hill Cuttings* Misc. Earthwork (TQ5420503315)
 227m SE 133° Windover-Wilmington Barrow* Round Barrow(s) (TQ5447103350)
 262m SSW 199° Windover Hill * Barrow Cemetery (TQ54220325)
 360m WSW 238° Windover Hill * Long Barrow (TQ540033)
 451m ESE 106° Wilmington Hill Staging Tumulus* Round Barrow(s) (TQ5473803388)
 552m E 98° Wilmington Hill Tumulus* Round Barrow(s) (TQ54850344)
 694m E 79° Hunters Burgh Long Barrow* Long Barrow (TQ54980365)
 804m SW 214° Deep Dean Tenantry Ground Barrow* Round Barrow(s) (TQ53870282)
 1.1km SW 215° Deap Dean* Barrow Cemetery (TQ537026)
 1.1km SE 134° Barrows West of Hill Barn* Artificial Mound (TQ55150273)
 1.2km ESE 119° Hill Barn Tumuli* Barrow Cemetery (TQ55390293)
 1.3km WNW 285° The Rookery Earthworks Misc. Earthwork (TQ530038)
 1.4km SSE 150° Holt Brow Tumulus* Round Barrow(s) (TQ5506802270)
 1.6km ESE 118° Folkington Hill Round Barrow(s) (TQ55720279)
 1.6km SSE 153° Holt Brow South Tumulus* Artificial Mound (TQ55090205)
 1.7km SSW 200° Fore Down Cross Dyke* Misc. Earthwork (TQ5376701881)
 1.8km SSW 201° Fore Down Tumulus * Round Barrow(s) (TQ53710178)
 2.0km S 183° Lullington/Clay Bottom* Misc. Earthwork (TQ5424201455)
 2.3km SSE 166° Clay Bottom Tumulus* Artificial Mound (TQ5491401269)
 2.3km W 262° Alfriston Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature (TQ520031)
 2.5km SSW 194° Friston Forest* Round Barrow(s) (TQ53760107)
 2.9km SSW 195° Charleston Bottom (Upper Ridge) Field System Misc. Earthwork (TQ53630068)
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Re: Long Man of Wilmington by wellhunters on Thursday, 12 October 2023
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We have recently discovered some very interesting possible solar alignments at this site. Watch this space....
Would love to hear from anyone else who has any theories about the Long Man!!
[ Reply to This ]

The Long Man of Wilmington Monument Podcast by Andy B on Monday, 25 December 2017
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The Long Man of Wilmington Monument Podcast:
https://soundcloud.com/user-310122391/episode-1-the-long-man

http://monumentpodcast.com/episode%201%20-%20the%20long%20man.html
More here
http://www.monumentpodcast.com/

Also an episode about the Devil's Arrows in Yorkshire
http://monumentpodcast.com/episode%202%20-%20devil's%20arrows.html
and an introduction
http://monumentpodcast.com/prologue.html
It's not just someone talking - there are some fun audio 'cut ups' as well
[ Reply to This ]

The Archaeology Of Windover Hill by Andy B on Friday, 11 August 2017
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David Staveley writes: Windover Hill on which the giant is on the south face of is rich in archaeological sites. When the Weald was still forested and full of wolves and wild boar, the bare downland offered the best means of travel. The downs were used for transportation of tin from Cornwall via Wessex and as such was a very important and no doubt busy throughfare. It has been suggested that the Giant was drawn by Phoenician traders as there is a resemblance between the giant and a Phoenician figure holding two pillars of a temple. Whatever the origin, the area has sites from Neolithic times onwards.

Flint was mined on the hill in the Neolithic period and the filled in mine shafts can still be seen. These mines were identified early this century by Dr. Curwen but were only confirmed by excavation in 1971. A flint axe head similar to one found at Coombe Hill was found near to Windover Hill. Other large open cast mines above and to the giants left are Edwardian. There is a Celtic field system (lynchets) just to the southwest with 3 round barrows (tumuli) in its midst, this is probably not Wilma's Farmstead as Wilma is a Saxon name and unlike the earlier Celts, the Saxons settled on the plains rather than the hills, pillaging the hilltop farmsteads as they moved west to the fort of Anderida at Pevensey.

Barrows On Windover Hill

There are several prehistoric burials above the Giant sometimes going by the name of Giants Grave, which has been mutilated at the northern end by a possible trackway. One theory suggests the long barrow is actually a spoil heap from the nearby mining but that theory doesn't explain the straitness of the barrow and the ditches around it which would be quite unnecessary for a spoil heap. It has been suggested that the mutilation mentioned above was an original part of the construction as the ditch around the damaged part doesn't seem to be affected.

The small part of barrow that is cut off by the damage is slightly lower and wider than the main part, and the whole, looked at as the original construction, has a very phallic look to it, the head off the phallus pointing towards the head of the long man. There is another long barrow just to the east on Wilmington Hill called "Hunters Burgh" (a name known as far back as the reign of Elizabeth I) as well as several bronze age round barrows, including a particularly large bowl barrow (135 feet diameter) just above the giant, and a smaller barrow (45 feet diameter) to the east between Windover Hill and Wilmington Hill.

The first round barrow contains an impressive and high status burial and the finds which included a cremation urn in a pit under a pile of flints were excavated by Dr. Giddeon Mantell but have now been lost, but the barrow itself is reckoned to belong to a late neolithic or bronze age chief.

More at
http://www.sussexarch.org.uk/saaf/wilmington.html

See our nearby sites list above for the locations of the other sites mentiond.
[ Reply to This ]

Long Man of Wilmington Walk by Andy B on Friday, 11 August 2017
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At the signed footpath, turn left off the road, with a clear view of the Long Man over ploughed fields ahead of you. In fact his figure wasn’t always this clear, the chalk lines having been first marked out in bricks as recently as the 1870s – and during World War Two, he was painted green to prevent him being used as a landmark by enemy bombers.

As you follow the footpath towards the Long Man, you’ll notice that he has been carefully drawn so that he appears in proportion when viewed from the ground. Some argue that he represents an Anglo-Saxon war god, others a Roman standard bearer, while yet another legend tells that he represents the hero Beowulf. To prevent damage by soil erosion, you should not climb the slope surrounding the Long Man or walk on the figure itself.

Continue along the path as it curves round to the right below the Long Man, parallel to the road and following the contour of Windover Hill. Higher up on Windover Hill itself are Neolithic flint mines and Bronze Age tumuli, together with a long barrow – where, according to the giant legends, the Long Man is buried. Local folklore tells that Windover Hill is haunted by ghostly black dogs, beasts of evil omen which possibly originate in Saxon mythology. Further along, you pass a disused chalk pit on your right.

More at Countryfile Magazine
http://www.countryfile.com/days-out/long-man-wilmington-sussex
[ Reply to This ]

The Long Man of Wilmington and showing the rotation of the heavens by Andy B on Friday, 11 August 2017
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Jon M writes: This exercise shows how the rotation of the heavens might be discovered and proved by earlier peoples, particularly in Southern England. A 'Geocentric' worldview is the idea that our World is fixed: the heavens revolve around us it's possible that prehistoric man first discovered this idea.

We are going to use observation to understand the rotation of the Heavens as it might be seen by neolithic peoples. You will end up with a new and unusual explanation for the Long Man of Wilmington as interestingly the slope with the Long Man on is a north facing slope at just the right angle to the North Star to do this experiment.

More at
http://heavenshenge.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/make-your-own-heavens-hinge-part-1.html
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Re: Long Man of Wilmington by NickyD on Saturday, 15 August 2015
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I recommend stopping at St Mary's and St. Peter's church in Wilmington. You get a lovely view of the long man and also get to see what they believe is the oldest yew tree in Sussex (about 1600 years old).
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Morris Dancing May 1st 2015 5.30am. Long Man Morris by Anonymous on Wednesday, 29 April 2015
Long Man Morris will be dancing at the foot of The Long Man at 5.30am 1st May 2015.

http://www.longman.org.uk/prog2015.html#may
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Long Man Morris Men May 1st 2012 dancing at dawn at the Long Man by coldrum on Friday, 27 April 2012
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Tuesday 1st
May Day


Dancing at the foot of the Long Man of Wilmington


05h30

http://www.longman.org.uk/
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Re: Long Man of Wilmington by Swddn on Friday, 29 July 2011
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I was much taken with what Rodney Castleden had to say in his 1983 book, where he suggested that the figure might be nearly 6000 years old and that the environment might be a predecessor to Stonehenge as a center of solar/solstice ritual for much of Britain. He believed that the figure comes down the hill, straight-on, and the "staves" being the "dipylon" through which the Sun entered just as at Stonehenge and Durrington. The "two girls" reported by Hecatius sent by the Hyperborians to Delos, the island sacred to Apollo, were a pair of pylons, probably blessed in some way at Stonehenge, and died and "buried" at Delos meant they were erected there. It seems unlikely that Delos will give any evidence as Roman occupation turned this most sacred island into slave lots.

As I remember, Castleden suggested that the calendar feature of Stonehenge, made so famous by Gerald Hawkins, came from the Southeast and merged with the Megalithic Culture, which came down from the north, at Stonehenge.

It seems that Castleden doesn't stand by these theories, as he has moved on to other subjects and not returned. Although discussion moves toward the Long Man being newer than thought, I noticed a story of a lost mate, and I saw a hillside nearer Alfriston where there is very similarly shaped land, almost a tablet surface, which is grassy, but with a small modern style white horse cut on its shoulder. I suspect this might be the site of the female figure, which might not fit with the sun god theory.

The "alien house" "rotten borough" of Avronelle, which Castleden implied may have indicated a place that held ancient secrets, the Wilmington neighborhood is lovely. When I visited there, the church was being hugely festooned with flowers, and there is a yew of something like 1600 years of age, certified by the yew certifying society. Windover hill looks down to the sea, and the atmosphere was really magical.
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    Re: Long Man of Wilmington by Swddn on Wednesday, 20 November 2013
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    I understand Castleden has a new edition of his Wilmington Giant book out, but I've not seen it to find if he defends the pre-Stonehenge date he assigned to it or if he bows to recent views that all chalk figures are within the last few centuries.
    [ Reply to This ]

Re: Long Man of Wilmington by enjaytom on Friday, 02 July 2010
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The Long Man is an outline portrait of the ancient land surveyor who measured ancient trackways and formed settlement positions using his two staves fixed at right angle to make a pacing frame 2.073 metres standard length between the tips, the ancient 'fathom'or 'faethm'.
His height is 33 faethms, one megalithic 'furlang' furlong. 33 furlangs = one megalithic mile. Stonehenge to the Highcliffe coast is 22 meg. miles ina straight line. Stone Street in Kent is 10 megalithic miles in length, Canterbury to Hole Hill in a straight line. Ancient Places are at meg mile intervals, 'Sixmile' is the key.
My book 'Stonehenge Sacred Symbolism' explains sixty examples of the 'Dodman's work in sourthern England at Stonehenge times.
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Re: Long Man of Wilmington by coldrum on Saturday, 26 June 2010
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Who ever did this can't draw. The Cerne Giants' is far superier. ;)
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Re: Long Man of Wilmington by TheCaptain on Thursday, 24 June 2010
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The much mistreated Long Man of Wilmington has now an added member, making him a match for the Cerne Abbas Giant.

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/832374-long-man-of-wilmington-given-20ft-penis

"A 6m (20ft) appendage has been added to famous chalk hill carving the Long Man of Wilmington.

It is thought pranksters used a football pitch marker for the stunt in East Sussex.

Sussex Archaeological Society said: ‘There has been a fair bit of sniggering about it.’ The paint is expected to wash away.

The Long Man of Wilmington lies on the slopes of Windover Hill, 9 miles from Eastbourne and is thought to date back to around the 16th century.
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Street View by coldrum on Wednesday, 17 March 2010
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View Larger Map
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Long Man Morris Men by coldrum on Tuesday, 23 June 2009
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Long Man Morris Men, dance at dawn on May day at the foot of the Long Man of Wilmington.

http://www.longman.org.uk/

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Re: Long Man by coldrum on Friday, 30 January 2009
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Pastscape record:

http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=408705
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Re: Long Man by coldrum on Friday, 23 January 2009
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Link:

http://www.sussexpast.co.uk/property/site.php?site_id=13

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Long Man by coldrum on Wednesday, 23 July 2008
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http://www2.prestel.co.uk/aspen/sussex/wilmington.html#arch
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Apology to Pagans over Long Man stunt by coldrum on Thursday, 19 July 2007
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Apology to Pagans over Long Man stunt

THE SUSSEX Archaeological Society has apologised to protesters after they allowed a controversial stunt by ITV to give the Long Man of Wilmington a sex change.
ITV and the archaeological society caused fury among Pagans and other protesters when they allowed fashion gurus Trinny and Susannah to add breasts and pigtails to the figure many believe is sacred.

As part of the programme, Trinny and Susannah Undress, ITV asked woman dressed in white to lie on the figure to create the transformation.

Chief Executive Office of the organisation, John Manley, said: 'The Sussex Archaeological Society would like to apologise to representatives of the Pagan community, or any other individual or groups, who might have been offended by recent television filming on the Long Man of Wilmington.

'It was not the society's intention to cause offence.

'The society is proud of its curation of the Long Man.
'In future the society will consult representatives of the Pagan community and other interested parties before sanctioning any significant activities.'

Newell Fisher was one of the protesters against the stunt and has now helped form a campaign group, Guardians of the Long Man.

As archaeological liaison officer of that group Mr Fisher said: 'We look forward to working with the Sussex Archaeological Society to help ensure the future welfare of the site.

'Our confidence in their custodianship has been restored.'

He said the protesters would continue their fight to stop the footage of the stunt being aired.

He said: 'We are absolutely determined this footage should not be shown as we feel it will encourage anti-social behaviour on the site.

'We heard people say they were going up there directly after the filming as the activities seem to make people think it is ok an we are extremely concerned about this.'

http://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news?articleid=3038817
[ Reply to This ]

Trinny and Suzannah controversy by Andy B on Sunday, 08 July 2007
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More news on the recent publicity stunt on our page here:
Style gurus give Long Man a sex change!
http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=2146413144
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Long Man of Wilmington by Anonymous on Sunday, 20 May 2007
The huge carving of the Long Man of Wilmington on the South Downs was given a face-lift ready for May Day.

The 235ft-high Wilmington giant, on the Downs north of Eastbourne, was given a new coat of paint after being cleaned by members of the Territorial Army.

"It needed doing - it was a bit grubby but now it looks absolutely splendid," said Morris dancer Alan Vaughan.

The Long Man Morris dancers perform at the feet of the giant at 0530 BST every May Day.

More: BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/sussex/6591483.stm
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Long Man of Wilmington by Vicky on Thursday, 24 June 2004
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From The Sussex Argus 23/06/2004:

Long Man is not as old as he looks

The Long Man of Wilmington may be much younger than originally thought.

The familiar chalk figure of a man, drawn on a downland hillside near Eastbourne, has baffled generations of experts.

Investigators thought the figure might date from anywhere between 4,000 years ago, in the Bronze Age, and the first known drawing of it in 1710. The favoured guess was about 700AD.

However, a year-long examination of material unearthed at the bottom of the hill led researchers to conclude he is probably from the 16th or 17th Century.

Professor Martin Bell, from the University of Reading's archaeology department, said: "There are various pieces of evidence that point to the 16th Century."

At that time there was an episode of instability and erosion indicating the figure may have been cut then.

Prof Bell added: "The mystery now is why he was created."

The 67m giant is depicted standing and holding two poles. People have suggested these could represent anything from twin spears to the gates of the netherworld.

Prof Bell's research is published in this month's edition of British Archaeology magazine.
[ Reply to This ]
    Re: Long Man of Wilmington by Thorgrim on Thursday, 24 June 2004
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    Strange that the Cerne Abbas Giant is also reckoned to be 17th century whereas the Uffington White Horse is generally believed to be Iron Age. That is a long time gap and it seems odd that the Uffington figure was cut more than 2000 years ago and then nothing else until the 17th century. That doesn't make a lot of sense and it seems more likely that many hill figures simply have not been regularly scoured and so have become lost and overgrown. I do not doubt the scientific analysis of the material from the bottom of the slopes at Cerne Abbas and Wilmington, but wonder if the figures we see today were not re-cuttings of earlier ones.
    [ Reply to This ]

Re: Long Man of Wilmington by Vicky on Thursday, 02 October 2003
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From the Telegraph 02/10/2003:

Prehistoric Long Man is '16th century new boy'
By David Derbyshire, Science Correspondent

The origins of England's tallest chalk hill figure, the Long Man of Wilmington, have puzzled historians and archaeologists for generations.

Carved into a steep slope on the South Downs in Sussex, the imposing figure has been claimed as an Anglo Saxon warrior, a Roman folly and an Iron Age fertility symbol.
 

The Long Man of Wilmington

But according to a team of researchers, the Long Man may be a relatively recent addition to the landscape. Tests carried out this summer have produced compelling evidence that it dates from the mid-16th century.

The findings have surprised the experts and will cast doubt on the age of other supposedly prehistoric carvings, including the Cerne Abbas giant in Dorset.

Standing 226 feet tall, the Long Man of Wilmington is one of the largest carved figures in the world. It dominates the grassy downland at the village of Wilmington near Eastbourne, holding a stave in each hand.

Although the earliest known record of the figure comes from 1710, many scholars have argued that it already existed when the Romans invaded Britain.

The new findings come from a team of researchers led by Prof Martin Bell, an environmental archaeologist at Reading University. Their research is part of Figures in the Chalk, broadcast on BBC2 tonight at 7.30pm.

"I didn't expect this date at all," Prof Bell told The Daily Telegraph yesterday. "I expected it to be no later than Anglo Saxon."

Prof Bell's conclusions come from an analysis of chalk fragments washed down the slope over the past few thousand years.

The analysis revealed little activity on the hillside during the Iron Age, Roman occupation or Medieval times. But about 500 years ago there was a sudden change when a layer of chalk rubble swept down the slope. Prof Bell believes that the chalk debris may have been come from the freshly cut Long Man.
[ Reply to This ]
    Re: Long Man of Wilmington by Anonymous on Thursday, 01 April 2004
    Have you checked the disturbed ground alongside the Long Man
    This seems to be different from the rest of the hill. Maybe it was
    redesigned in the 16th century.
    [ Reply to This ]
      Re: Long Man of Wilmington by enjaytom on Friday, 02 July 2010
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      The ground disturbance took place in April 1874 when the Reverend W. St Croix and friends re-modelled the older outline figure. See the Sussex Graphic newspaper.
      [ Reply to This ]
    Re: Long Man of Wilmington by Anonymous on Sunday, 24 May 2009
    If a large amount of erosion had taken place, the trenches on the hillside would surely have been rather deeper than the shallow impressions seen today.

    The sample taken must have been from a restricted location, and as the text above re-iterates that the 'debris may have' come from the giant.

    Further the hilltop above the giant is cut by a supposed roman road ( a terraced path ) and also there are the remains of flint mines which had strewn debris down the slope. Immediately above the giant there is a sunken way, either eroded or cut into the hillside. These are all evidence of a great deal of disturbance to the hillside.

    Another point is that the gaint may have been scoured. This is the process whereby the existing chalk fill is removed and fresh chalk is added. Most hillfigures are not cut down to the underlying rock, but are filled with rammed chalk. The date to 500 years bp might be ascribed to a periodic scouring.

    I think that the researchers cited have just provided evidence that the giant is older than the 16th century. What they must prove, for me to accept their date, is that the chalk rubble they examined came from the giants chalk fill at the time it was made, and not from one or other scourings, or from one of the other disturbances on the site, like the many rabbit burrows that once existed prior to mixi and gassing of the rodents.

    Infact the rabbit populations were quite high in the 16th century because they populace was breeding them for meat. The large number of escape's led to the rabbit becomeing very common throughout the UK. Prior to this date their populations are likely to have been lower.

    Maybe then the date the researchers have obtained represents a time when rabbits were in plague proportions.
    [ Reply to This ]
    Re: Long Man of Wilmington by coldrum on Tuesday, 23 June 2009
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    It was a very limited excavation. I recently brought a set of DVD's called landscape mysteries which showed the excavation taking place. The excavation was not that big, just one trench. The conclusion of the programme was that the Cerne Abbas Giant and the Long Man were both 16th century. The Cerne Giant has not been dated at all and the date was based on some-ones theory.
    The Long man has not been directly dated either, unlike the Uffington horse which was. The horse at Uffington was found to be much older than they thought, late Bronze Age early Iron Age.
    As has been said the debris found in the excavation could be from any of the various other processes going on over the centuries. And only a small section at the base of the hill was excavated, what might lie under the rest.
    Neither the Cerne Giant or The Long Man have been dated directly. Surely archeologists could do a limited dig at both hill figures as was done at Uffington and date them once and for all.
    [ Reply to This ]
      Re: Long Man of Wilmington by Anonymous on Monday, 28 June 2010
      Clutching at straws to preserve fragile belief in a "sacred" site.
      [ Reply to This ]
    Re: Long Man of Wilmington by enjaytom on Friday, 02 July 2010
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    The Long Man is certainly pre-Roman. See my account in 'Stonehenge Sacred Symbolism' pp5 et seq.
    Professor Bell's hypothesis should take into account the mini ice age about 1675 when the River Thames froze over and an ox was roasted in the solid ice.
    This extreme weather event of decades duration would probably have frozen a depth of exposed chalk on the north facing Long Man slope. When warmer weather returned by the beginning of the eighteenth century, rain would have washed the thawed friable chalk dust down the slope.
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