Bestriding a Dorset hillside above the village that gives it its name, the Cerne Abbas Giant has long been a source of fascination – not least the question of how old it is. Is the huge (and impressively ithyphallic) chalk image of prehistoric origin, does it depict a Classical or Saxon deity, or was it a much more recent creation? Establishing a more precise date for the Giant has been an archaeological ambition for well over 25 years, particularly since new scientific techniques have become available.
In 1996, a major academic debate was held between eminent archaeologists (led by Professor Tim Darvill, Bournemouth University) and historians (Professor Ron Hutton, University of Bristol), but no firm conclusions were reached – although the debate did give rise to a book, The Cerne Giant: an antiquity on trial, which was published three years later and explores the various theories about the Giant’s origins.
As for archaeological investigations, a lack of funding had stalled earlier detailed research designs, but in 2020 the National Trust’s North and West Dorset property team were able to raise the money that was required. This year is the centenary of the Pitt-Rivers family transferring ownership of the Giant to the National Trust, and to help mark this event the NT’s senior archaeologist in Wessex, Martin Papworth, led a team of archaeologists and archaeological scientists (Mike Allen) to find out for the first time just how old the chalk colossus really is.
