Cerne Abbas Giant - Framed Picture 16" x 16"

The Cerne Abbas Giant is a hill figure near the village of Cerne Abbas in Dorset.

At 180 ft high, it depicts a standing nude male figure with a prominent erection and wielding a large club in its right hand. Like many other hill figures it is outlined by shallow trenches cut in the turf and backfilled with chalk rubble.

The origin and age of the figure are unclear. It is often thought of as an ancient construction, though the earliest mention of it dates to the late 17th century. Early antiquarians associated it, on little evidence, with a Saxon deity, while other scholars sought to identify it with a Celtic British figure of the Greek Hercules or some syncretisation of the two. There is archaeological evidence that parts of the drawing have been lost over time. The lack of earlier descriptions, along with information given to an 18th-century historian by the steward of the manor at the time, leads some modern scholars to conclude that it probably dates from the 17th century, and perhaps originated as political satire.

Regardless of its age, the Cerne Abbas Giant has become an important part of local culture and folklore, which often associates it with fertility.

A 1996 study found that some features have changed over time, concluding that the figure originally held a cloak in its left arm and stood over a disembodied head.] The former presence of a cloak was corroborated in 2008 when a team of archaeologists using special equipment determined that part of the carving had been allowed to be obliterated. The cloak might have been a depiction of an animal skin, giving credence to the theory that the giant was a depiction of a hunter, or alternatively, Hercules with the skin of the Nemean lion over his arm.

The Giant has been described as "renowned for its manhood". The Giant sports an erection, including its testicles, 36 feet long, and nearly the length of its head. It has been called "Britain's most famous phallus"; one commentator noted that postcards of the Giant were the only indecent photographs that could be sent through the English Post Office.

The carving is most commonly known as the Cerne Abbas Giant.

Like several other chalk figures carved into the English countryside, the Cerne Abbas Giant is often thought of as an ancient creation. However, as with many of the other figures, 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 demonstrate. The earliest known written reference to the giant is a 4 November 1694 entry in the Churchwardens' Accounts from St Mary's Church in Cerne Abbas.

In 1920, the giant and the 0.99 acres site where he stands was donated to the National Trust by its then land-owners. During World War II the giant was camouflaged with brushwood by the Home Guard in order to prevent use as a landmark for enemy aircraft.

In 1921 Walter Long of Gillingham, Dorset objected to the giant's nudity and conducted a campaign to either convert it to a simple nude, or to cover its supposed obscenity with a leaf. Long's protest gained some support, including that of two bishops, and eventually reached the Home Office. The Home Office considered the protest to be in humour, though the chief constable responded to say the office could not act against a protected scheduled monument.