Investigating Flower’s Barrow hillfort
The 2,500-year-old fortifications are perched on the edge of a cliff, and are fast disappearing due to processes of natural coastal erosion.
Dorset
Dating the Cerne Abbas giant
New dating research has revealed that, rather than being an ancient fertility symbol or depiction of the mythical hero Heracles, the giant is in fact medieval.
Cerne Abbas Giant is an Anglo-Saxon creation, study confirms
Is the Cerne Abbas Giant a prehistoric creation honouring a fertility god, or perhaps even a crude representation of Oliver Cromwell?
Dewlish leopard
Discovered during excavations at Dewlish in 1974, the leopard mosaic is considered one of the most realistic depictions of an animal by a Romano-British artist to survive in any artistic medium.
Britain’s secret resistance plans
The British authorities were preparing for a brutal underground war in the event of German invasion and occupation in 1940.
Mega-henges: the evolution of Mount Pleasant’s monuments
It was long thought that huge and complex monuments like Mount Pleasant in Dorset had developed over many centuries – but new dating evidence suggests that the diverse elements of this site came together much faster than previously imagined, with intriguing implications for our understanding of these late Neolithic enclosures. Carly Hilts reports.
The Giant’s story revisited: identifying the Cerne Abbas hill figure as ‘The Choice of Hercules’
Following our feature exploring the Cerne Abbas Giant’s date, Brian Edwards offers some thought-provoking insights into the Dorset hill figure’s historical context.
Investigating the age of the Cerne Abbas hill figure
The Cerne Abbas Giant, a 55m-tall chalk hill figure depicting a nude man, has been in the care of the National Trust for 100 years. To mark this anniversary, small-scale excavations retrieved dating samples from the Dorset landmark – and, although the present lockdown has put analysis on hold, intriguing clues are already beginning to emerge. Mike Allen and Martin Papworth report.