Hill figure explained

A hill figure is a large visual representation created by cutting into a steep hillside and revealing the underlying geology. It is a type of geoglyph usually designed to be seen from afar rather than above. In some cases trenches are dug and rubble made from material brighter than the natural bedrock is placed into them. The new material is often chalk, a soft and white form of limestone, leading to the alternative name of chalk figure for this form of art.

Hill figures cut in grass are a phenomenon especially seen in England, where examples include the Cerne Abbas Giant, the Uffington White Horse, and the Long Man of Wilmington, as well as the "lost" carvings at Cambridge, Oxford and Plymouth Hoe. From the 18th century onwards, many further ones were added. Many figures long thought to be ancient have been found to be relatively recent when subjected to modern archaeological scrutiny, at least in their current form. Only the Uffington White Horse appears to retain a prehistoric shape, while the Cerne Abbas Giant may be prehistoric, Romano-British, or Early Modern. Nevertheless, these figures, and their possible lost companions, have been iconic in the English people's conception of their past.

In England there are at least fifty landscape figures, the majority of which are in the south.[1]

History

The creation of hill figures has been practised since prehistory and can include human and animal forms. Cutting of horses is common, as well as more abstract symbols and, in the modern era, advertising brands.

The reasons for the creation for the figures are varied and obscure. The Uffington Horse probably held political significance, since the figure dominates the valley below. It probably dates to the British Iron Age since coins have been found exhibiting the symbol. The Cerne Abbas Giant might have been a work of political satire likely of the Early Modern period.[2] Wiltshire is a county with a large number of White Horses; 14 have been recorded.[3] The figures are usually created by the cutting away of the top layer of relatively poor soil on suitable hillsides. This exposes the white chalk beneath, which contrasts well with the short green hill grass, and the image is clearly visible for a considerable distance. Although most of the figures are of great age, many are relatively new. Devizes in Wiltshire created a large white horse for the 2000 Millennium celebrations and in October 2009 celebrated this with an aerial photo of volunteers making the figure 10 for an aerial photo.[4]

Figures must be maintained to remain visible, and local people often work regularly to restore or maintain a local landmark, though two cuttings of military badges at Sutton Mandeville, Wiltshire, are becoming lost. A lost map of Australia at Compton Chamberlayne, Wiltshire, was restored in 2018.[5]

Similar pictures exist elsewhere in the world, notably the far larger Nazca Lines in Peru, which are on flat land but visible from hills in the area. However, these were made in desert terrain rather than on grassy hillsides, so have not become overgrown and thus have survived much longer without maintenance. The Nazca Lines were formed by removing loose stones from the lines to expose the whiteish underlying soil, which is not itself dug.

Terminology

Geoglyph is the usual term for structures carved into or otherwise made from rock formations.

In 1949, Morris Marples "half-humorously" coined the words "leucippotomy for the cutting of white horses and gigantotomy for the cutting of giants on rare occasions".[6] [7] [8] Though neither word appears in the Oxford English Dictionary, the terms occasionally appear in print.[9]

Construction and maintenance

Until recently, three methods were used to construct white hill figures.

The biggest threat to white horses and other hill figures is natural vegetation covering the figures. In the case of chalk figures, natural vegetation encroaches from the edges and can grow on soil washed onto the figure by rain. Water erosion can also be a problem on steep or gentle slopes, because rain can wash the chalk off the horse, or soil onto the horse. Larger horses are more susceptible to this. If chalk is washed off the horse, the horse gradually creeps down the slope; or if soil is washed onto the horse, it collects onto the lower edges and the horse gradually climbs up the slope. A solution is to provide drainage, either using run-off drains, as at Uffington White Horse, or a french ditch.

Since hill figures must be maintained by the removal of regrown turf, only those that motivate the local populace to look after them survive. Surviving ancient figures all have an associated fair or ceremony that involves maintaining them.

Unmaintained figures gradually fade away.[10] Firle Corn at Firle Beacon, Sussex could be a lost figure. Its existence is suggested by infrared photography. If it is a lost figure, its age is uncertain, and unlikely prehistoric in origin, as only one figure in the UK has been shown to be of this age, the Uffington White Horse.

Human figures

UK

While presumed to be of prehistoric origin, surviving examples may have been created only within the last four hundred years.[11] Of these giants only two survive: one near the village of Cerne Abbas, to the north of Dorchester, in Dorset and one at Wilmington, Long Man civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex. Examples located at Oxford, Cambridge, and on Plymouth Hoe can no longer be seen with the naked eye.[11] [12] [13]

The Osmington White Horse carries a rider (King George III) but is not considered an example of gigantotomy due to the name of the figure referring to the horse.

Cerne Abbas Giant

See main article: Cerne Abbas Giant. The Cerne Abbas Giant, also referred to as the "Rude Man" or the "Rude Giant", is a hill figure of a giant naked man 180feet high, 167feet wide.[2] The figure is carved into the side of a steep hill, and is best viewed from the opposite side of the valley or from the air. The carving is formed by a trench 12inches wide, and about the same depth, which has been cut through grass and earth into the underlying chalk. In his right hand the giant holds a knobbled club 120feet in length.

Its history cannot be traced back further than the late 17th century, making an origin during the Celtic, Roman or even Early Medieval periods difficult to prove. Above and to the right of the Giant's head is an earthwork known as the "Trendle", or "Frying Pan". Medieval writings refer to this location as "Trendle Hill", but make no mention of the giant, leading to the conclusion that it was probably only carved about 400 years ago. In contrast, the Uffington White Horse an unquestionably prehistoric hill figure on the Berkshire Downs was noticed and recorded by medieval authors.[2] [14] In 2021, a sediment analysis by the National Trust indicated an origin in the date range of 700 CE to 1100 CE, surprising historians who did not expect it to be medieval.[15]

In 2008, overgrowth forced a re-chalking of the giant,[16] with 17 tonnes of new chalk being poured in and tamped down by hand.[17]

Long Man of Wilmington

See main article: Long Man of Wilmington. The Long Man of Wilmington is located on one of the steep slopes of Windover Hill, 6miles northwest of Eastbourne. The figure is 227feet tall and designed to look in proportion when viewed from below, and is shown holding two staves. The earliest record was made by the surveyor John Rowley in the year 1710. This drawing suggests that the original figure was a shadow or indentation in the grass, rather than the solid outline of a human figure. The staves were not depicted as a rake and scythe as was once thought, and the head was a helmet shape. Sir William Borrow's drawing of 1766 shows the figure holding a rake and a scythe, both shorter than the staves.[18]

Before 1874, the Long Man's outline was only visible in certain light conditions as a different shade in the hillside grass, or after a light fall of snow. In that year an antiquarian marked out the outline with yellow bricks, later cemented together. It has been claimed that the 'restoration' process distorted the position of the feet, an assertion backed up by several who had been familiar with the figure before 1874, and also by later resistivity surveys.[19] It has also been suggested that it removed the Long Man's genitalia, though there is no historical or archaeological evidence which supports that claim.[18] [20] A wide range of dates of origin have been proposed for the Long Man, but more recent archaeological work done by the University of Reading suggests that the figure dates from the 16th or 17th century AD.[21]

Plymouth Hoe giants

See main article: Plymouth Hoe. Until the early 17th century large outline images of the two giants, perhaps Gog and Magog (or Goemagot and Corineus) had for a long time been cut into the turf of Plymouth Hoe exposing the white limestone beneath.[22] An early and explicit reference was made to them by Richard Carew in 1602.[23] At one time these figures were periodically re-cut and cleaned but no trace of them remains today.[22] [24]

Firle Corn

See main article: Firle Corn. Firle Corn in Firle, Sussex is a nearly-lost hill figure which can be seen with the aid of infrared photography. Now looking more like a small ear of corn or a strange weapon than a human figure, there is a legend suggesting that a giant called Gill was once cut on this same hill and that he was considered an adversary of the Long Man of Wilmington not far away.[25] According to one story, the giant on Firle Beacon threw his hammer at the Wilmington giant and killed him, and that the figure on the hillside marks the place where his body fell.[26]

Homer Simpson

As a publicity stunt for the opening of The Simpsons Movie on 16 July 2007, a giant Homer Simpson brandishing a doughnut was outlined in water-based biodegradable paint to the left of the Cerne Abbas Giant. This act angered local neopagans, who pledged to perform "rain magic" to wash the figure away.[27] [28]

Other countries

Horse figures

There are 16 known white horse hill figures in the UK, or 17 including the painted one at Cleadon Hills.[29]

List of UK figures

Current figures

NameCountyCutting date
Uffington White HorseOxfordshire1000 BC
Westbury White HorseWiltshire1600s
Cherhill White HorseWiltshire1780
Mormond White HorseAberdeenshire1790s
Marlborough White HorseWiltshire1804
Osmington White HorseDorset1808
Alton Barnes White HorseWiltshire1812
Hackpen White HorseWiltshire1838
Woolbury White HorseHampshireBefore 1846
Kilburn White HorseNorth Yorkshire1857
Broad Town White HorseWiltshire1864
Cleadon White HorseSouth TynesideBefore 1887
Litlington White HorseEast Sussex1924
Pewsey White HorseWiltshire1937
Devizes White HorseWiltshire1999
Heeley White HorseSouth Yorkshire2000
Folkestone White HorseKent2003
Lutterworth white horsesLeicestershire2012
Beverley Racecourse white horsesEast Riding2010s
Black Horse of Bush HoweCumbria? (may be a natural figure)

Lost figures

NameCountyCutLostReplaced by
Old Westbury White HorseWiltshire878?Before 1778New Westbury White Horse
The Giant GhystBristolBefore 1480[32]
Plymouth Hoe GogmagogDevonBefore 1486[33] Late 1660s
Wandlebury Hill GogmagogCambridgeshireBefore 1605Around 1730
Old Pewsey White HorseWiltshire17851940New Pewsey White Horse
Pitstone Hill White HorseBuckinghamshire1809?Before 1990
Old Litlington White HorseSussex18381924New Litlington White Horse
Old Devizes White HorseWiltshire1845Before 1999New Devizes White Horse
Inkpen White HorseWiltshire1868?Before 1990
Hindhead White HorseSurreyBefore 19131939
Red Horse of TysoeWarwickshireBefore 1607Remains lost in 1964-
Red Horse of Tysoe "IV"Warwickshire18001910
Rockley White HorseWiltshireDiscovered 1948After 1950, before 1990
Tan Hill White Horse/DonkeyWiltshireBefore 1975After 1975, before 1990
Mossley White Horse (aka Luzley White Horse)Greater Manchester1981[34] After 1994, before 1999
Folkestone White Horse mock-upKent19991999Folkestone White Horse
Laverstock PandaWiltshire19691984
Pont Abraham Tea Pot and CupWales19922009

Possible figures

NameCountyDiscovery dateNote
Whittlesford White HorseCambridge2004A crop mark resembling a horse discovered 2004, possibly hinting a previous horse was cut here.
Liddington White HorseWiltshire2000sPlans for this white horse (including designs) occurred in the 2000s, but the project never happened.
Red Horse of Tysoe "VI"Warwickshire2010sA forthcoming recutting of the Red Horse of Tysoe at the Vale of the Red Horse.

List of international figures

NameLocationCutLost
Bloemfontein White HorseBloemfontein, South AfricaBefore 1932N/A
Cockington Green white horseCockington Green, Canberra, Australia20th or 21st centuryN/A
Georgia white horseGeorgia, United States20th or 21st centuryN/A
Juárez White HorseCiudad Juárez, MexicoUnknownN/A
Riff Country horseIourdanan, MoroccoUnknownUnknown
Spis Castle Celtic HorseŽehra, Slovakia2000sN/A
Tunis HorsesTunis, TunisiaUnknownN/A
Waimate White [35] Waimate, New Zealand1968N/A
The horses in Cockington Green, Georgia and Juárez are all based on the style of or direct copies of the Uffington White Horse.

Other figures

UK

Influence on other art forms

The white horses of Wiltshire, of which there are currently nine, have inspired other sculptures in the county. Julive Livsey's sculpture White Horse Pacified (1987) in Shaw, Swindon was inspired by the white horses.[37]

In 2010, Charlotte Moreton created the steel sculpture White Horse for Solstice Park, Amesbury, taking influence from white horses.[38]

The Westbury White Horse is depicted on a roundabout and mosaic in the town.

An 1872 sketch of the Cherhill White Horse was incorporated into an unofficial flag of Wiltshire.

The Town Flag of Pewsey, registered in September 2014, features the Pewsey White Horse at its centre.

In popular culture

Poetry and prose

Music videos

See also

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. Nigel Clarke, The Rude Man of Cerne Abbas and Other Wessex Oddities, Lyme Regis, Nigel J. Clarke Publications,
  2. Web site: Cerne Abbas Giant. sacred-destinations.com. 2009-03-28. 2021-03-19. https://web.archive.org/web/20210319032052/https://www.gstatic.com/prose/brandjs.js. live.
  3. Web site: Wiltshire White Horses. wiltshirewhitehorses.org.uk. 2009-11-05. 2009-04-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20090405032643/http://www.wiltshirewhitehorses.org.uk/index.html. live.
  4. Web site: Roundway Hill and covert, Oliver's castle and Millennium White Horse. devizeheritage.org.uk. 5 July 2015. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150304180203/http://www.devizesheritage.org.uk/olivers_castle_and_roundway_hill.html. 4 March 2015.
  5. News: Volunteers restore Australian map to Wiltshire hillside . 2024-07-29 . en-GB.
  6. Morris Marples, "White horses and other hill figures", Publisher: A. Sutton, 1949 (reprint),, 9780904387599, 223 pages, page 16
  7. John Timpson, "Timpson's Other England: A Look at the Unusual and the Definitely Odd", Publisher: Jarrold, 1994,, 9780711706453, 224 pages, page 68
  8. Harold William Timperley, "The Vale of Pewsey", Publisher Hale, 1954, 230 pages, page 181
  9. "Top 10: Britain's largest hill figures", The Telegraph, undated, attributed to Top 10 of Britain: 250 Quintessentially British Lists by Russell Ash, published by Hamlyn
  10. Web site: Hows. Mark. Lost Figures. Hillfigure site. 2014-01-20. 2014-08-06. https://web.archive.org/web/20140806171606/http://www.hows.org.uk/personal/hillfigs/lost/lostfig.htm. live.
  11. Bergamar, Kate (1997). Discovering Hill Figures. Pub. Shire. .
  12. Web site: Prehistorical Wiltshire. fortunecity.com. 5 July 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20040315152542/http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/statue/1287/English/Salisbur/stoneh1.htm. 15 March 2004. dead.
  13. Web site: Wayside of Wiltshire. Bed & Breakfast and Self Catering Holiday Accommodation in beautiful Wiltshire. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130410044604/http://www.waysideofwiltshire.co.uk/holiday-accommodation-chippenham.html. 2013-04-10.
  14. Book: Hutchins, John . John Hutchins (antiquary) . Robert Douch (Contributor) . The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset . 1742 . 1973 . Rowman & Littlefield Publishers . Oxford . 0-87471-336-6 .
  15. News: 2021-05-12 . Cerne Giant in Dorset dates from Anglo-Saxon times, analysis suggests . en . 2021-05-12 . 2024-05-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240514021627/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/may/12/cerne-giant-in-dorset-dates-from-anglo-saxon-times-analysis-suggests . live .
  16. News: BBC . BBC . Sheep shortage hits Giant's look . BBC . June 20, 2008 . 2008-06-20 . 2021-02-11 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210211173146/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/dorset/7465329.stm . live .
  17. News: Volunteers restore historic giant of Cerne Abbas to his former glory. Morris. Steven. 2008-09-16. The Guardian. Guardian Newspapers. 2008-09-17. 2017-08-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20170813191152/https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2008/sep/16/heritage.ruralaffairs. live.
  18. The Modern Antiquarian, Julian Cope, Thorsons 1998
  19. Shape-shifting: The changing outline of the Long Man of Wilmington . Sussex Archaeological Collections . Rodney . Castleden . 140 . 83–95 . 2002 . 140 . 10.5284/1085966 . free.
  20. The Unknown, Issue Jan 1986
  21. News: David . Derbyshire . Prehistoric Long Man is '16th century new boy' . Daily Telegraph . Telegraph Media Group . 2 October 2003 . 2009-02-08 . 2012-11-11 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121111061709/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1443003/Prehistoric-Long-Man-is-16th-century-new-boy.html . live .
  22. Book: Gray , Todd . The Mint Press. 1-903356-32-6. Lost Devon: Creation, Change and Destruction over 500 Years. Exeter, Devon. 2003. 153.
  23. The Survey of Cornwall, text here:http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext06/srvcr10.txt . Note that Carew refers to Plymouth Hoe as "the Hawe at Plymmouth".
  24. Book: Bracken, C. W.. A History of Plymouth and her Neighbours. Underhill. Plymouth. 1931. 4.
  25. Web site: Firle Corn. hows.org.uk. 2012-10-22. 2012-02-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20120222033047/http://www.hows.org.uk/personal/hillfigs/lost/firle.htm. live.
  26. Web site: Scraps of Folklore Collected by John Philipps Emslie, C. S. Burne, Folklore, Vol. 26, No. 2. (Jun. 30, 1915), pp. 153-170. . 2012-10-22 . 2012-08-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120815010811/http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/63/long_man_of_wilmington.html . live .
  27. News: Wish for rain to wash away Homer. BBC News. 2007-07-16. 2012-10-22. 2014-07-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20140715084303/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/dorset/6901543.stm. live.
  28. Book: Hamblin. Cory. Serket's Movies: Commentary and Trivia on 444 Movies. 2009. Dorrance Publishing. 9781434996053. 327. 30 June 2015.
  29. Web site: Hillfigures.co.uk - A site dedicated to information about hill figures. . 2022-12-04 . www.hillfigures.co.uk . 2022-08-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220813213315/http://hillfigures.co.uk/ . live .
  30. Bergamar, Kate (1997). Discovering Hill Figures. Pub. Shire. . P. 7 - 9.
  31. Plenderleath, Rev. W. C. (1892). The White Horses of the West of England. Pub. Allen & Storr, London. P. 38.
  32. Clark. John. 2016. Trojans at Totnes and Giants on the Hoe: Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historical Fiction and Geographical Reality. Report and Transactions of the Devonshire Association. The Devonshire Association. 148. 110. 0309-7994. 2022-11-05. 2022-11-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20221105214004/https://devonassoc.org.uk/devoninfo/trojans-at-totnes-2016/. live.
  33. Clark. John. 2016. Trojans at Totnes and Giants on the Hoe: Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historical Fiction and Geographical Reality. Report and Transactions of the Devonshire Association. The Devonshire Association. 148. 108–111. 0309-7994. 2022-11-05. 2022-11-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20221105214004/https://devonassoc.org.uk/devoninfo/trojans-at-totnes-2016/. live.
  34. Web site: You Know You’ve Spent Too Long in Tameside If… East of the M60 . 2016-09-30 . 2016-10-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161014082439/https://mancunian1001.wordpress.com/2014/03/10/you-know-youve-spent-too-long-in-tameside-if/ . live .
  35. Web site: Waimate White Horse . 2022-05-21 . 2022-01-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220129132721/https://waimate.org.nz/the-white-horse . live .
  36. Bergamar, Kate (1997). Discovering Hill Figures. Pub. Shire. . P. 10 - 12.
  37. http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/10638539.Staying_in_the_public_eye/ Staying in the public eye
  38. Web site: Solstice Park Slstice. Solsticepark.com. August 29, 2015. October 24, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221024180821/http://www.solsticepark.com/files/2713/9284/1982/solstice-park-sculptures-leaflet-Nov-2013.pdf. dead.