THE likely age of Dorset's Cerne Giant has been revealed for the first time - and it has come as a surprise to historians.
Archaeologists at the National Trust have been analysing sediment taken from the carving - considered to be Britain’s largest and perhaps best-known chalk hill figure.
Generations have speculated about the age and meaning of the club-brandishing giant hewn into a Dorset hillside with some theories including it being a depiction of the legendary demi-god Hercules, an ancient fertility symbol, or even the soldier and statesman Oliver Cromwell.
Another theory is that the figure was carved around the body of a giant who was slain by local people after he terrorised the countryside.