The origins of England's Cerne Giant have been shrouded in mystery but new research suggests the figure may have helped in the fight against Viking marauders.
  • @TheOakTree@beehaw.orgEnglish
    4•11 months ago

    His torso, ribs, and schlong look awfully like a cartoon Mandrill… which is hilarious in multiple ways.

    Cannot unsee

  • AutoTL;DRBEnglish
    2•11 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    A giant naked figure carved centuries ago into an English hillside represents the classical hero Hercules, a study has suggested—and may have aided armies in the medieval period.

    Known as the Cerne Giant, the massive figure, which stands almost 200 feet high, depicts a naked man brandishing a club in his right hand, with his left arm outstretched.

    But the authors suggest its location makes “good sense” as a special meeting place, possibly a mustering (or rallying) point, for an army of the West Saxons.

    The location of the giant, on a spur jutting out from a ridge with impressive views and proximity to major routeways, is characteristic of a special type of Anglo-Saxon meeting place.

    “Cutting a chalk figure of Hercules as fighting warrior, with club poised to strike, would have served as a fine rallying point, a backdrop for a call to arms, a sermon in chalk—and, perhaps, as something with which to keep a gathering army busy,” the authors wrote in the study.

    “The idea that a special assembly site could be marked by such a monumental image is spectacular—and it raises more questions about other chalk figures that survive in the British landscape, their antiquity and purpose,” Gittos told Newsweek.

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