Gazetteer of
British Place Names

The Cerne Giant (aka The Cerne Abbas Giant) is a hill figure situated on the steep west facing slopes of Giant Hill, overlooking the valley of the River Cerne, at Cerne Abbas, Dorset. The hill figure survives as a 2ft deep turf-cut outline filled with crushed chalk of a 180ft high and 160ft wide naked man. The figure is bearing a knotted club in his right hand. Various anatomical details are depicted including facial features, nipples, ribs and phallus. The earliest written reference was made in 1694, when the Cerne Abbas churchwarden's accounts required three shillings to re-cut the giant. The origin and age of the figure are unclear, though optically stimulated luminescence testing has suggested a date possibly close to the 10th-century date of the founding of Cerne Abbey. The site is in the care of the National Trust. It is within the council area of Dorset.
Historic England Scheduled Monument 1003202.

Place Type: Hill Figure
Historic County: Dorset
Lat, Long: 50.813692,-2.4747387
Grid Reference: ST666016
Police Area: Dorset
Council Area: Dorset
Civil Parish: Cerne Abbas CP
Country: England

GBPNID: 300774
Entry Type: Main listing (P)
URL: https://gazetteer.org.uk/place/Cerne_Giant,_Dorset_300774

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