England's Rudest Chalk Figure Gets a Glow-Up
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The 55 metre (180 ft) tall hillside figure was probably first cut in the late Saxon period, between around 700 and 1100AD, and is now deemed to be a need of some TLC.
For centuries, the Cerne Abbas Giant has been hard to miss. The chalk figure, cut into a hillside near the village of Cerne Abbas in Dorset (south west England), shows a naked, club-wielding man whose outline has made him one of the UK's most instantly recognisable historic landmarks. But the National Trust, which owns and manages the site, says changing weather patterns are making it harder to keep the Giant prominent on the hillside.
National Trust staff and volunteers will this week pack tonnes of new chalk onto the figure to restore the crisp whiteness of his outline. The National Trust says heavier winter rains are washing chalk from the slope more quickly, while mild, damp conditions give algae more chance to grow - making it greener and less distinct.
The BBC reports that the rechalking will take about two weeks to complete and involve around 300 National Trust staff and volunteers, carrying about 17 tonnes of fresh chalk up the steep hillside, which in places has a gradient of roughly one in three.
This work comes just months after public donations helped the National Trust raise £330,000 to acquire 138 hectares (341 acres) of additional land around the Giant. The newly protected area includes species-rich chalk grassland, important archaeological records and habitat for rare wildlife, including the endangered Duke of Burgundy butterfly.
The National Trust says the purchase will allow it to care not just for the figure itself, but for the wider landscape in which it sits - improving access, restoring habitats and supporting further research.
The origins and purpose of the artwork have been shrouded in mystery for generations.
