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Encyclopedia > Hill figure
Chalk figure
Chalk 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. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... A geoglyph is a drawing on the ground, or a large motif, (generally greater than 4 metres) or design produced on the ground, either by arranging clasts (stones, stone fragments, gravel or earth) to create a positive geoglyph (stone arrangement/alignment, petroform, earth mound) or by removing patinated clasts to... Bedrock is the native consolidated rock underlying the Earths surface. ... The Needles,situated on the Isle Of Wight, are part of the extensive Southern England Chalk Formation. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...


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. For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Layout of the giant as seen from directly above The Cerne Abbas giant, also referred to as the Rude Man or the Rude Giant (rude meaning naked), is a hill figure of a giant naked man on a hillside near the village of Cerne Abbas, to the north of Dorchester... As seen from an altitude of 2000 feet, from the cockpit of a glider The Uffington White Horse is a highly stylised hillfigure, 374 feet (110m) long, cut out of the turf on the upper slopes of Uffington Castle, an Iron Age hill fort near The Ridgeway, in southern England. ... The Long Man of Wilmington. ... Geography Status City (1951) Region East of England Admin. ... Oxford is a city and local government district in Oxfordshire, England, with a population of 134,248 (2001 census). ... Plymouth Hoe from Mountbatten Plymouth Hoe, referred to locally as the Hoe, is a large public space in the English port city of Plymouth. ...

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. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Prehistoric man. ... Leucipotomy, also known as leucippotomy is the art of carving white horses in chalk upland areas - particularly apparent in southern England and presumed of prehistoric origin. ...


The reasons for the creation for the figures are varied and obscure. The Uffington Horse probably held religious significance whereas the Cerne Abbas giant might well have been a work of political satire. 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. Layout of the giant as seen from directly above The Cerne Abbas giant, also referred to as the Rude Man or the Rude Giant (rude meaning naked), is a hill figure of a giant naked man on a hillside near the village of Cerne Abbas, to the north of Dorchester... Political satire is a subgenre of general satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics, politicians and public affairs. ...


Despite some of the figures being of great age they are at the same time relatively new. The figures need to be maintained to stay visible and local people often work to restore their local landmark on a regular basis, thereby continuing an unbroken tradition.


Lost figures

Since hill figures need to be maintained by the removal of regrown turf only those that have motivated the local populace to look after them have survived. Ancient figures all have an associated fair or ceremony which involves maintaining them.


Unmaintained figures gradually fade away. ( See list of lost figures here). Firle Corn at Firle Beacon, Sussex could be a lost figure. It's existence is suggested by infrared photography. If it is a lost figure, its age is uncertain, and unlikely to be prehistoric in origin as only one figure in the UK has been shown to be of this age, i.e. the Uffington White Horse, (see above). For the suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, see Firle, South Australia. ... Sussex is a historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. ... Top: tree photographed in the near infrared range. ...


Some of the most significant English figures

The Long Man of Wilmington Alton is a civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire. ... Wiltshire (abbreviated Wilts) is a large southern English county. ... Broad Town is a village and civil parish in the North Wiltshire district of Wiltshire, England, 8 miles south-west of Swindon. ... Capel-le-Ferne[1], situated on the B2011, between Folkestone and Dover on the South East Coast of England ... Layout of the giant as seen from directly above The Cerne Abbas giant, also referred to as the Rude Man or the Rude Giant (rude meaning naked), is a hill figure of a giant naked man on a hillside near the village of Cerne Abbas, to the north of Dorchester... Dorset (pronounced DOR-sit or [dɔ.sət], and sometimes in the past called Dorsetshire) is a county in the south-west of England, on the English Channel coast. ... Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan county in the North East of England around the mouths of the Rivers Tyne and Wear. ... , Devizes is a town and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire. ... Cherhill is a village in Wiltshire, England located on the A4 road between Calne and Marlborough about 90 miles west of London. ... Folkestone is a coastal resort town in the Shepway district of Kent, England. ... The Kent coat of arms For other uses, see Kent (disambiguation). ... Broad Hinton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire. ... Winterbourne Bassett is a village in the English county of Wiltshire. ... , Hindhead is a village on the A3 in Surrey, about 10 miles south-west of Guildford. ... Not to be confused with Surry. ... Britains largest and most northerly white horse figure is carved into the North York Moors hillside near the village of Kilburn. ... Look up Yorkshire in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Lenham Cross on the Downs Lenham is a market village in Kent situated on the southern edge of the North Downs, halfway between Maidstone and Ashford. ... Sussex is a historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. ... Marlborough is a market town in the English county of Wiltshire on the Old Bath Road, the old main road from London to Bath. ... Osmington White Horse is a figure sculpted into the chalk hills just north of Weymouth called the South Dorset Downs. ... , Pewsey is a large village (often considered a small town) in Wiltshire with a population of 3,237 people[1] located approximately 80 miles (130 km) west of London. ... Tan Hill (Grid reference SU080640) is a hill which lies just to the north of the village of Allington in Wiltshire, England. ... As seen from an altitude of 2000 feet, from the cockpit of a glider The Uffington White Horse is a highly stylised hillfigure, 374 feet (110m) long, cut out of the turf on the upper slopes of Uffington Castle, an Iron Age hill fort near The Ridgeway, in southern England. ... The Bronze Age is a period in a civilizations development when the most advanced metalworking has developed the techniques of smelting copper from natural outcroppings and alloys it to cast bronze. ... The Westbury White Horse is a chalk carving on Salisbury Plain in England. ... Bratton is a small village near Westbury in Wiltshire. ... Wye College Wye is an historic village in Kent, England, located some 12 miles from Canterbury. ... The Long Man of Wilmington. ... Sussex is a historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. ... Whipsnade Wild Animal Park is a zoo located at Whipsnade, near Dunstable in Bedfordshire, England. ... Dunstable Downs are part of the Chiltern Hills, in southern Bedfordshire. ... Whitehawk is an area in East Brighton, East Sussex, England. ... Near Beachy Head The South Downs is one of the two areas of chalk downland in southern England. ... Brighton is located on the south coast of England, and together with its immediate neighbour Hove forms the city of Brighton and Hove. ... Sussex is a historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1704 × 2272 pixel, file size: 839 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) A view of the long man from the car park File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert... The Long Man of Wilmington. ...

The White Horse near Kilburn, North Yorkshire Kilburn White Horse, 4th July 2004, File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The small village of Kilburn in North Yorkshire is known for two reasons: the White Horse, and the Mouseman. ...

Lenham Cross on the Downs Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1368x993, 393 KB) Summary C. Hoyle Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Lenham Cross on the Downs Lenham is a market village in Kent situated on the southern edge of the North Downs, halfway between Maidstone and Ashford. ...

Wye Crown Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 428 KB) Summary C Hoyle Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Wye College Wye is an historic village in Kent, England, located some 12 miles from Canterbury. ...

Uffington White Horse ImageMetadata File history File links White_horse_from_air. ... As seen from an altitude of 2000 feet, from the cockpit of a glider The Uffington White Horse is a highly stylised hillfigure, 374 feet (110m) long, cut out of the turf on the upper slopes of Uffington Castle, an Iron Age hill fort near The Ridgeway, in southern England. ...

The Cerne Abbas giant Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2592 × 1944 pixel, file size: 1. ... Layout of the giant as seen from directly above The Cerne Abbas giant, also referred to as the Rude Man or the Rude Giant (rude meaning naked), is a hill figure of a giant naked man on a hillside near the village of Cerne Abbas, to the north of Dorchester...

The Westbury White Horse Image File history File linksMetadata WestburyWhiteHorse. ... The Westbury White Horse is a chalk carving on Salisbury Plain in England. ...

The Cherhill White Horse Image File history File links Cherhillwhitehorse. ... Cherhill is a village in Wiltshire, England located on the A4 road between Calne and Marlborough about 90 miles west of London. ...

Hill figures in fiction

Rosemary Sutcliff (December 14, 1920 - July 23, 1992) was a British novelist, best known as a writer of highly acclaimed historical fiction. ... Marcus Sedgwick (b. ... dick king smith was a writer who wrote books such as. ... Terence David John Pratchett OBE (born April 28, 1948, in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England[1]) is an English fantasy author, best known for his Discworld series. ...

See also

English folklore is the folk tradition which has developed in England over a number of centuries. ... The Anglo-Saxons arrived in Britain from southern Scandinavia, the Netherlands and northern Germany, thus the Anglo-Saxon gods were originally the same gods as those in Germanic mythology and in the better-known version Norse mythology. ...

External links

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