This gentleman is the Cerne Giant, perhaps the most famous and controversial hill figure in the UK. Cut into the chalk downlands onto the hill just outside the village of Cerne Abbas in Dorset, this is just one of 3 ancient figures of this type in England, the others being the Uffington White Horse and the Long Man of Wilmington.
Standing nearly 60 metres (almost 200 feet) high and 51 metres (170 feet) wide, the giant is a scheduled Ancient Monument which looms large over the nearby Cerne Valley..
The origin of the giant is unknown. Some believe that he represents the Roman god Hercules and is over 1,500 years old – others believe that it is much more recent and is a giant caricature of Oliver Cromwell, only 500 years old.
Above the giant there is a rectangular bank and ditch known as the Trendle which was probably an Iron Age temple or an ancient fortification.
Perhaps we had a local UFO group over a thousand years ago.
This is another feature best viewed from the sky.
Recent archaeological radar of the surrounding soil found – beneath his left hand – there was a cloak and a severed head.
But good taste has allowed this to erode away.