Firle Beacon is a hill in the South Downs of southern England.[1] It is 217 metres high and is a Marilyn. It commands a far-reaching view. When the prevailing wind is northerly, the site is often used for gliding activities like slope soaring.
In the area of Firle Beacon is a Neolithic long barrow and several round barrows.[2] Round barrows generally date from the early Bronze Age.
At Firle Beacon itself is a bowl barrow, about 60feet in diameter and 3.5feet high. It was opened in 1820; finds included two cremation urns.[2]
The long barrow, 220m west of Firle Beacon, is about 112feet long, 70feet wide and 8.5feet high. It has an east–west orientation, and has a surrounding ditch, more noticeable on the northern side.[2]
There are other round barrows within a kilometre of Firle Beacon, to the west and east.[2]
Firle Corn, high on the north-east slope of Firle Beacon, is a nearly lost hill figure, possibly gigantotomy, seen using infrared photography. It looks like a small ear of corn, but what it depicts is unknown. Legend suggests a giant called Gill was cut on this hill and considered an adversary of the nearby Long Man of Wilmington;[3] one story says the Firle Beacon giant threw his hammer at the Wilmington giant and killed him, and the hill figure marks this site.[4]