Unveiling the Mystery of the Cerne Giant: A New Study Reveals its Early Medieval Origins

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The Cerne Giant in Dorset, England, has long been a captivating monument, but its age and origins have remained a mystery. A new study proposes that it was created in the early Middle Ages and used as a mustering site for armies. This also sheds light on its various historical interpretations, including its connections to Greek mythology and Christianity. The giant's complicated biography adds to its enduring appeal for tourists and locals alike.


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For hundreds of years, the Cerne Giant—a monumental hillside engraving in Dorset of a naked man wielding a club and spanning 180 feet—has captivated both residents and tourists. The history of the giant, however, and in particular, its age, has long been a mystery. A new paper in Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies proposes that the Cerne Giant can in fact be dated to the early Middle Ages, and, as a result, its cultural context and significance more clearly understood.

The Cerne Giant is 180 feet tall and wields a club, making it the largest hill figure in Britain.

The paper, written by authors Thomas Morcom and Helen Gittos, acknowledges that previous attempts to date the giant placed its creation either sometime in prehistory or in the early modern period. Using a technique called optically stimulated luminescence, researchers for the National Trust theorize that the hillside monument was actually constructed in the period between 700 and 1100 A.D, and potentially used as a mustering site for West Saxon armies.

The giant is carved into the chalky hills of Dorset, England, and can be seen from miles away.

This dating breakthrough also sheds new light on various historical interpretations of the Cerne Giant’s identity. Many scholars had posited that the giant was modeled on the myth of Hercules, and although, as the authors write, “[a]t first glance, an early medieval date seems odd for a figure which looks like the classical god Hercules,” there was in fact a swell of interest in the Greek hero during the ninth century, lending credence to this hypothesis.

Tourists have been visiting the Cerne Giant since the 17th century, making it a popular attraction for centuries.

Another popular theory regarding the inspiration for the giant was its basis on Saint Eadwold. The authors propose that the residents of a Benedictine monastery, built in Cerne in the late tenth century, actively propagated this idea, redirecting interest in the giant away from Greek affiliations and towards Christian ones.

One final persona bestowed upon the giant was that of a pagan god called Helith. The authors of the Speculum paper write that this identification was a mistaken one, the result of a misreading, in the thirteenth century, of an account of the giant written in Latin.

The giant is often associated with fertility and virility, and has been adorned with a giant phallus at various points in its history.

The new findings concerning the Cerne Giant’s age and history make greater sense of this string of theories regarding its identity. Ultimately, as the authors write, this complicated biography is all “part of the history of the giant and what continues to attract so many people to him.” .

Reference: “The Cerne Giant in Its Early Medieval Context” by Thomas Morcom and Helen Gittos, January 2024, Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies. DOI: 10.1086/727992 .

It is believed that the giant may have served as a fertility symbol for ancient Britons, as well as a warning to potential invaders.

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