The Cerne Abbas Giant has towered over the Dorset countryside for centuries, yet experts continue to debate when and why the 180-foot-tall figure was carved into the chalky hillside. New evidence indicates the giant was created between A.D. 700 and 1100. Scholars also now suggest it depicts the semidivine hero Hercules with a club in his right hand and that his characteristic lion skin was once shown draped over his left arm. The widely visible site was probably used as a muster
