The long man of Wilmington is a 70 feet long figure marked out on the side of a hill. Its been there for centuries. Historians are still baffled as to how old it is, as until 200 years ago, it was marked out with grass and some chalk - rather than what is very obvious today ( chalk outlines) There is some evidence that it was around when the Romans occupied the UK - so it dates to at least the 2nd century.
Its purpose too has a few different camps of thought. I'd always believed it was a symbol of fertility as there are some texts which point to certain ceremonies being held in particular spots to ensure a couples chance of becoming pregnant.. I'll leave it up to your imagination what and where those ceremonies may have entailed. However, there is some belief that it shows a warrior character.
Regardless of what it might represent, its an incredible feat of artwork in a difficult environment with few tools.
We parked at the official car park and started the walk to the feet of the man. We didn't make it as it got muddier and deeper as we went.
I'm hoping my photos give you some sort of scale of the figure. Its an incredible sight.
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