Section:GDN 1N PaGe:27 Edition Date:190829 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 28/8/2019 19:38 cYanmaGentaYellowb
Thursday 29 Aug ust 2019 The Guardian •
▼ Cerne Abbas, Dorset^27
National Trust staff lead a two-week
rechalking of the giant hill-carved
fi gure last given a facelift in 2008
PHOTOGRAPH: BEN BIRCHALL/PAVolunteers get
down to work
restoring giant
on Dorset hill
to former glory
Steven MorrisThe scene could hardly have been
more quintessentially English. As
buzzards circled above and butter-
fl ies darted across the fl ower-dotted
slopes, dozens of volunteers were to be
found digging and scraping at a huge
fi gure carved into the steep hillside.
The Cerne Abbas giant has loomed
large above this lovely Dorset valley
for centuries, but 11 years after he was
last spruced up , he – and his impres-
sive nether regions – were beginning
to look a little faded. So yesterday,
an intrepid bunch of National Trust
rangers, volunteers and archaeology
experts clambered up the hill to help
restore him to his former glory.
“Isn’t he wonderful?” said Diana
Kimber , one of the Cerne villagers who
was lending a hand. “He’s an impor-
tant symbol for our area. We wouldn’t
lose him for anything.”
The history of the 55-m etre- high
(180ft) fi gure is lost in the mists of time
but Kimber reckons he has been there- in one form or another – for thou-
sands of years. “ It’s a real thrill to be
here close to him among the butterfl ies
and the fl owers. And you get a better
work out than at the gym.”
The task is, indeed, very tough. The
process of re-edging the fi gure, dig-
ging out the faded chalk and replacing
it is done by hand with picks, shovels,
brushes, tampers and some lung-
bursting scrambles. It took 60 people
nine days to fi nish the job in 2008 and
about 20 tonnes of chalk will be used
this time to make him once again vis-
ible for miles around.
Martin Papworth , a National Trust
archaeologist, ran through some of
the theories behind the fi gure. While
some believe the giant may represent
an ancient god , many now believe he is
much more modern, perhaps a carica-
ture of Oliver Cromwell, pointing out
that no reference is made to the fi gure
in medieval documents that survive
from nearby Cerne Abbey. “In truth,
nobody really knows who he is,” said
Papworth.
▲ Volunteers clean the giant’s outline
before 20 tonnes of new chalk is laidRELEASED BY "What's News" vk.com/wsnws TELEGRAM: t.me/whatsnws