The Cerne Abbas Giant
This is the fantastic
Cerne Abbas Giant, a 55 metre (180 foot) high chalk figure
carved into a hillside near the village of Cerne Abbas, England. In
his right hand the giant holds a 36.5 metre long club, and of
course it’s impossible to miss that the Cerne Abbas Giant is, uh..
giant in every way.
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Like many chalk figures carved into the English countryside, the
Cerne Abbas giant is often thought of as an ancient creation -
however, its history can’t actually be traced back further than the
late 17th century - making it (a relatively sprightly) 400 years
old.
As for the Giant’s purpose, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerne_Abbas_giant Wikipedia
says:
for hundreds of years it was local custom to erect a maypole
within the earthwork about which childless couples would dance to
promote fertility and even today childless couples are
known to visit the site in order to copulate in the hope
that they might have a child.
Now that would have been an interesting
find!
Thanks to PapaPenguin, Fred Bobardo, and http://www.strollingguides.co.uk/ Anthony Houghton.