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The Uffington White Horse is a highly stylized figure, 374 feet long, cut out of the turf on the upper slopes of Uffington Castle, near The Ridgeway. The figure is believed to date back some 3,000 years to the Bronze Age.
Numerous other prominent sites of similar age are located nearby, notably Wayland's Smithy, a long barrow less than two kilometres to the west.
The horse is thought to represent a Celtic god (probably Epona) or a tribal symbol. For centuries, however, local people have maintained that it is a portrait of the dragon slain by Saint George on the nearby Dragon Hill.
A more modern theory suggests that the stylised horse figure acted as a sign to people passing on The Ridgeway advertising horses being sold or catered for at the neighboring Uffington Castle (or a settlement that may have existed prior to the castle with the mounds visible today).
The cutting exposes the underlying chalk making the horse a striking figure. Up until the late 19th century the horse was scoured every seven years as part of a more general local festival. However, when the regular cleaning was halted the figure quickly became obscured. It now needs frequent work by English Heritage for the figure to remain visible.
In August 2002 the figure was defaced with the addition of a rider and three dogs by members of the "Real Countryside Alliance"" (RCA). The act was denounced by the Countryside Alliance.[1]
1 The Uffington Horse in popular culture
- The design of the Uffington Horse was used as the album cover of the 1982Events January January 6 William Bonin is convicted of being the "freeway killer". January 8 AT&T agrees to divest itself of twenty-two subdivisions January 11 Mark Thatcher, son of the British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, disappears in the Sahara du album English Settlement by English rock group XTCFor the drug, see Ecstasy. For the energy drink, see XTC (drink). XTC is an innovative new wave band from Swindon, UK. They are considered the forefathers of the Britpop movement of the 1980s and are one of the most influential bands still working today., who come from the nearby town of SwindonSwindon is a town of Wiltshire, England, located in the South West of the UK (between London and Bristol). Easily accessible from junctions 15 and 16 of the M4 motorway, or by rail (Swindon Station). Swindon has a population of 180,000 (and rising). It is.
- It also featured in the 19921992 is a leap year starting on Wednesday. Events January January The Internet Society is formed. January 1 Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Perez de Cuellar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General January 1 George H. Bush becomes the fi Vincent WardVincent Ward (born in Greytown, New Zealand in 1956) is a film director and screenwriter. He trained as an artist and made a number of noted short films before his first 'art-house' film Vigil appeared at the Cannes Film Festival. His next film, The Navig-directed movie Map of the Human Heart .
2 See also
- Vale of White HorseThe Vale of White Horse is a local government district of Oxfordshire in England. It is to the south of the county, and most of the area was previously part of Berkshire. The main town is Abingdon, other places include Faringdon and Wantage. It takes its
- Chalk figures in the United KingdomNumerous chalk figures have been carved into hillsides in the United Kingdom, including Alton Barnes white horse, Wiltshire (1812) Broad Town white horse, Wiltshire (1864) Cerne Abbas giant, Dorset (popularly believed to be ancient, but recently dated to
- Wayland's Smithy
