Cerne Giant Scientists Plan To Find Its Age

The ancient giant figure of a naked man on a Dorset hillside is to be investigated to establish exactly just how ancient he really is.

Last year the 55metre high chalk hillside carving was given a make-over to improve its lines made of pounded chalk.

Professor Phillip Toms, from the University of Gloucestershire is planning over the coming weeks to try to date the carving using a technique called optically stimulated luminescence or (OSL)

Dozens of volunteers helped the National Trust last year.

Various places on the carving have been selected and small trenches are being dug so that samples of soil from his elbows and feet can be taken away for testing.

The National Trust looks after the figure and Martin Papworth, a senior archaeologist at the Trust, said: “The OSL technique is commonly used to determine when mineral grains in the soil were last exposed to sunlight.

Dozens of local families helped the National Trust to help reinstate it on the steep hillside.

“It was used to discover the age of the Uffington White Horse in Oxfordshire in the 1990s, which was found to be nearly 3,000-years-old – even more ancient than we had expected.

“We’re expecting the results of the tests in July. It is likely that the tests will give us a date range, rather than a specific age, but we hope they will help us better understand, and care for, this famous landmark.”

The ancient Cerne Giant at Cerne Abbas, Dorset is having a make-over last year.

The giant chalk figure was gifted by the Pitt-Rivers family to the Trust in the 1920’s.

Over the years the giant has been thought of as a fertility symbol and rumours that several children were conceived have been talked of.

Another plan is to try to age the figure using remains of snail shells Mike Allen will be looking for ancient shells and he hopes that will be a pointer as to the age when the carving was made.

The ancient Cerne Giant is famous for having its manhood on full display.

Local resident Gordon Bishop, said the villagers were eagerly awaiting the results of the Cerne Giant.

“Although there are some who would prefer the giant’s age and origins to remain a mystery, I think the majority would like to know at least whether he is ancient or no more than a few hundred-years-old,” he said.