Image caption,

Speculation has surrounded the giant for centuries

By Ros Tappenden & Steve Humphrey

BBC South

A centuries-old mystery surrounding the origins of a chalk giant hill figure has been unravelled by academics from Oxford University.

New research indicates the Cerne Abbas Giant in Dorset was originally carved as an image of Hercules to mark a muster station for West Saxon armies.

Speculation has long surrounded the figure, with some believing it could date back to prehistoric times.

The academics said it was reinterpreted in the 11th Century by local monks.

Image caption,

Cerne Abbey was founded at the end of the 10th Century

In 2021, tests carried out for the National Trust, which owns the site, revealed the giant had been carved in the Anglo-Saxon period and was not prehistoric, or more recent, as previously thought.

Dr Helen Gittos and Dr Thomas Morcom have been building on the discovery to uncover why the giant was created in the first place.

They explained that Hercules was well known in the Middle Ages and there was a particular spike of interest in him during the 9th Century, at a time when the area was under attack by Vikings.