The 1908 re-cut of the Cerne Abbas Giant's phallus

The Cerne Abbas Giant is a 55-metre-long naked man carved into a hillside in Dorset. He holds a 37-metre club and sports a phallus so famous it was once the only indecent photo allowed through the English Post Office.

Archaeologists have been trying to pin down his age for years. Some think he dates back to between 700 CE and 1110 CE, perhaps linked to the founding of nearby Cerne Abbey. Others suggest a 17th-century origin, citing the lack of any earlier written records. It is a mystery - his features have been lost, altered, and added to over the centuries.

Take his famous anatomy as a prime example. Modern research suggests his current erection is actually the result of a 1908 re-cut. It seems a circle representing his navel was merged with a smaller penis during those repairs. Lidar scans from 2020 confirm the phallus was added much later than the rest of the figure, which was originally clothed. He might have even worn a cloak and held a severed head in his left hand once, before those details eroded away.

Today, you can see the result of these various artistic choices from a lay-by off the A352. The National Trust even gave him a nose job in 1993 after the weather took it away. He remains one of the most bizarre and well-known hill figures in the country.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons