Hill figure

A hill figure is a large visual representation created by cutting into a steep hillside and revealing the underlying geology. It is a type of geoglyph usually designed to be seen from afar rather than above. In some cases trenches are dug and rubble made from material brighter than the natural bedrock is placed into them. The new material is often chalk, a soft and white form of limestone, leading to the alternative name of chalk figure for this form of art.

Hill figures are common in England: examples include the Cerne Abbas giant, the Uffington White Horse, the Long Man of Wilmington, various badges of military units as well as the "lost" carvings at Cambridge, Oxford and Plymouth Hoe.

Contents

History

The creation of hill figures has been practised since prehistory and can include human (gigantotomy) and animal forms (cutting horses is known as "leucippotomy") as well as more abstract symbols and, in the modern era, advertising brands.

The reasons for the creation for the figures are varied and obscure. The Uffington Horse probably held political significance, since the figure dominates the valley below. It probably dates to the British Iron Age since coins have been found exhibiting the symbol. The Cerne Abbas giant might have been a work of political satire.[1] or perhaps a pagan emblem. Wiltshire is a county with a large number of White Horses; 14 have been recorded.[2] The figures are usually created by the cutting away of the top layer of relatively poor soil on suitable hillsides. This exposes the white chalk beneath, which contrasts well with the short green hill grass, and the image is clearly visible for a considerable distance. Despite most of the figures being of great age, many are relatively new. Devizes in Wiltshire created a large white horse for the 2000 Millennium celebrations and in October 2009 celebrated this with an aerial photo of volunteers making the figure 10 for an aerial photo.[3]

Figures must be maintained to remain visible, and local people often work regularly to restore or maintain a local landmark, though, two cuttings of military badges at Sutton Mandeville, Wiltshire, are becoming lost. A map of Australia at Compton Chamberlayne, Wiltshire, was lost in 2005.

Similar pictures exist elsewhere in the world, for example the Nazca Lines in Peru, however these were made in the desert, not on grassy hillsides, so they don't become overgrown, and thus survive much longer without human maintenance.

Lost figures

Since hill figures must be maintained by the removal of regrown turf, only those that motivate the local populace to look after them survive. Ancient figures all have an associated fair or ceremony that involves maintaining them.

Unmaintained figures gradually fade away.[4] Firle Corn at Firle Beacon, Sussex could be a lost figure. Its existence is suggested by infrared photography. If it is a lost figure, its age is uncertain, and unlikely prehistoric in origin, as only one figure in the UK has been shown to be of this age, the Uffington White Horse.

There have been horses at Devizes and Pewsey, both in Wiltshire, that have been lost but replaced by new ones in the 20th century.

According to the Hillfigure Homepage, there have been 19 military badges at Fovant that have been lost, although a 'YMCA' badge and a map of Australia at Compton Chamberlayne have also become lost recently.

Some of the most significant figures

England

In England there are at least fifty landscape figures, the majority of which are in the south.[5]

Scotland

Photographic gallery

English hill figures
The Cerne Abbas giant near Cerne Abbas  
The Cherhill White Horse near Cherhill  
The Kilburn White Horse near Kilburn, North Yorkshire  
Lenham Cross on the North Downs  
Uffington White Horse at Uffington, Oxfordshire  
The Westbury White Horse near Westbury, Wiltshire  
The Whipsnade Zoo lion near Whipsnade  
Wye Crown  
Watlington White Mark  
Two of the Fovant badges  
The Bulford Kiwi near Bulford  
Whiteleaf Cross  
Osmington White Horse near Weymouth, Dorset  
Folkestone White Horse on Cheriton Hill, Folkestone  
Alton Barnes White Horse  

Drawings gallery

English hill figures
The Cherhill White Horse in 1892.  
The Westbury White Horse in 1772 (Top) and as re-cut in 1778 (Bottom).  
The Uffington White Horse in 1885.  
Layout of the Long Man of Wilmington  
Layout of the Uffington White Horse  
Layout of the Cerne Abbas giant  
An unspecified white horse  

Hill figures in fiction

Hill figures in film

See also

References

  1. ^ Cerne Abbas Giant, Dorset
  2. ^ Wiltshire White Horses
  3. ^ Roundway Hill and covert, Oliver's castle and Millennium White Horse
  4. ^ List of lost figures
  5. ^ Nigel Clarke, The Rude Man of Cerne Abbas and Other Wessex Oddities, Lyme Regis, Nigel J. Clarke Publications, ISBN 0 107683 07X
  6. ^ Bergamar, Kate (1997). Discovering Hill Figures. Pub. Shire. ISBN 0-7478-0345-5. P. 7 - 9.
  7. ^ Plenderleath, Rev. W. C. (1892). The White Horses of the West of England. Pub. Allen & Storr, London. P. 38.
  8. ^ Bergamar, Kate (1997). Discovering Hill Figures. Pub. Shire. ISBN 0-7478-0345-5. P. 10 - 12.

Bibliography

Mapping

External links