The Cerne Giant, which is also known as the Cerne Abbas Giant, Rude Giant, or the Rude Man is a large hillside, with the figure of a large naked man found near the Cerne Abbas village, on the north side of Dorchester within the Dorset boundaries.
The Cerne Giant measure 51m in width and stands at a height or 55m along the side of a steep hill that can be best seen from the air, or from the other side of the valley. The engraved carving is actually a trench, which was formed at the same depth, and was cut through the earth and grass through to the chalk that lies underneath.
If you look closely at the Cerne Giant you will see that in his right hand there is a club that is 37m in length, although due to natural erosion, the image has changed and researchers believe that at one time, the left hand of the giant held a cloak and stood on the top of a disembodied head.
It is not known how old the Cerne Giant is, or why he was carved into the hillside, although some researchers believe that it was to honour a Saxon god, even though there is not much supporting evidence for this theory.
Other researchers believe that the Cerne Giant may have been built as a possible Roman Heracles. The age of the Giant is also not known, although since descriptions of the hillside do not appear in history until the middle of the eighteenth century, most scholars will concur that it cannot be much older than this time period.
Although many people think that the Cerne Giant is ancient, it is difficult to find mention of its creation in any works from Medieval times, including mention of ‘Trendle Hill’ which is nearby, but not of the giant, which disproves the notion that the Giant was in existence in ancient times.
The Giant sits on a site that is owned by the National Trust, and is listed by the Trust as a Scheduled Monument. One useful piece of trivia is that it has been disguised in the past, such as in WWII, so that enemy pilots would not be able to use it as a landmark for their location.
To maintain the Cerne Giant the National Trust trims the grass in the area, and re-chalks the lines about every 25 years.
Like most historical sites, there is a great deal of folklore surrounding the Cerne Giant, including stories that the chalk outline is the corpse left behind on the hillside, when a real giant died. Another story is that the giant invaded the coastline, and was beheaded while he slept by the villagers of Cerne Abbas.
Others believe that the giant is the symbol of fertility, and couples who were barren would place a maypole on the carving, and dance around it, in an effort to become more fertile.
