The Rude Man of Cerne

(Cerne Abbas Giant), Cerne Abbas, West Dorset, UK

The age of this chalk carving on a West Dorset hillside is subject to dispute. Chalk outline carvings in the region date to antiquity. Legend has it that it is of either the Celtic or Roman periods, which would make it quite old indeed.

However, the earliest known written reference to the giant is a November 4, 1694 entry in the Churchwardens’ Accounts from St. Mary’s Church in Cerne Abbas, which reads “for repairing ye Giant, 3 shillings.”