Long Man of Wilmington facts for kids
The Long Man of Wilmington, also known as the Wilmington Giant, is a huge figure carved into a hillside. You can find it on the steep slopes of Windover Hill near Wilmington, East Sussex, England. It is about 6 miles (10 km) northwest of Eastbourne. People used to call it the "Green Man."
The Long Man is 235 feet (72 meters) tall. It holds two "staves" or poles. The figure was designed to look correct when you view it from far below.
For a long time, people thought the Long Man was very old. They believed it was from the Iron Age or even the neolithic period. But in 2003, archaeologists studied the site. They found that the figure might have been made more recently. It could be from the 16th or 17th century AD.
The Long Man looks like it was carved from the white chalk of the hill. However, the figure you see today is made from white-painted breeze blocks and mortar.
The Long Man is one of only two large human hill figures left in England. The other is the Cerne Abbas Giant in Dorset. Both are protected as Ancient Monuments.
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What is the Long Man's Story?
No one knows for sure how the Long Man started. For many years, the oldest known drawing was from 1766. It was made by William Burrell. His drawing showed the figure holding a rake and a scythe. These tools were shorter than the staves we see today.
In 1993, an even older drawing was found. It was made by a surveyor named John Rowley in 1710. This is now the earliest known date the figure existed.
Some people thought monks from a nearby priory made the Long Man. They believed it showed a pilgrim. But many experts did not agree. They felt monks would not create a figure without clothes.
Until recently, most people thought the Long Man was from the neolithic period. This was because a long burial mound was nearby. Others thought it was from the Iron Age. They saw similarities to other hill figures.
Professor John North suggested the figure might have marked the movement of the Orion constellation. This would have been around 3480 BC. He thought it could be part of an ancient sky religion.
Other ideas suggested the figure was from Roman times or Anglo-Saxon England. An Anglo-Saxon brooch found in Kent showed a figure holding two spears. This looked similar to the Long Man.
In 2003, Professor Martin Bell led an archaeological study. This study strongly suggested the figure is from the 16th or 17th century AD. This time is called the Early Modern period. Bell found that the hillside was unstable during this time. This suggests the figure was first cut then.
This new idea means the Long Man could be a Tudor or Stuart-era joke. It might also be a religious image from the Reformation.
How the Long Man Changed Over Time
For much of its history, the Long Man was just a faint outline. It was like a shadow in the grass. You could see it best after light snow or as a different shade of green in summer. This is why it was once called the "Green Man."
Older drawings show different details. There might have been a scythe blade on one staff. There was also a hint of a helmet or hat. The feet also looked different.
The shape of the Long Man we see today is mostly from a "restoration" in 1873-74. A group led by Reverend William de St Croix outlined the figure. They used yellow bricks, which they whitewashed and cemented together. Some people believe this process changed the position of the feet.
The original plan for the restoration was to cut the figure down to the chalk. But this was too difficult because the soil was too deep.
After the 1873 restoration, many people said the feet looked different. They remembered both feet pointing outwards and downwards. This made the Giant look like he was "coming down the hill." Later studies in the 1990s supported this idea. They showed the feet had likely pointed outwards and were slightly lower.
These studies also suggested the figure was first made by digging trenches. This is how other chalk hill figures were made. There was also some evidence for the scythe-like feature and a "helmet" or hat. The Long Man might have been taller before the 1873 restoration.
The Long Man in Modern Times
In 1925, the Duke of Devonshire gave the Long Man site to the Sussex Archaeological Trust. This group is now called the Sussex Archaeological Society.
During the Second World War, the Long Man was painted green. This was to stop German aircraft from using it as a landmark.
The Long Man is important to some modern groups. At dawn on May Day, the Long Man Morris Men dance at its foot. The Long Man also hosts neo-pagan rituals. These happen on Sundays closest to the eight Pagan Festivals throughout the year.
In 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, someone painted a face mask onto the Long Man.
The Long Man in Stories
The Long Man of Wilmington has appeared in many books and comics.
In Arthur Beckett's 1909 book Spirit of the Downs, a chapter is about the Long Man. It tells a fictional story of Saxons drawing the figure after winning a battle.
Eleanor Farjeon's book Martin Pippin in the Daisy Field (1937) tells a folktale about the giant's origin.
In the comic book The Sandman #19 (1990), Neil Gaiman shows the figure as a guardian to a magical land.
The Long Man is also a big part of the Spike and Suzy comic book The Circle of Power (1998).
The figure also appears in The Old Weird Albion by Justin Hopper and The Light Keeper by Cole Moreton.
The Long Man is often mentioned in the books of science fiction and fantasy author John Whitbourn.
In TV Shows
In the Thomas & Friends episode The Man in The Hills, the character "The Man in The Hills" is based on the Long Man of Wilmington.
See also
In Spanish: Hombre Largo de Wilmington para niños
