Megalithic Poems

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"The testimony of Sue Clifford engages the jury with what the figure means to individuals and to local people. She begins her statement by expressing why the giant is so important to her personally and to the people of the town. She talks about the persistence of the giant and how he characterises the town as the ‘Giants domain’... Three poets, James Turner, Sandra Tappenden and Jan Farquharson, all of whom have contributed one poem to the chapter (are introduced)."

* The Cerne Giant: An Antiquity on Trial by T. Darvill, K. Barker, B. Bender and R. Hutton. Oxbow Books. 1999. 172 pages, 19 photographs, 3 maps, 32 text figures/illustrations. ISBN 1-900188-94-5. Review of the book here -

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prehistoric/reviews/03_06_cerne.htm

Jacquetta Hawkes (Prehistoric and Roman Monuments) gives a fascinating two pages to this myth/story, which goes back to a St.Augustine legend told by William of Malmesbury about the wicked pagans of Dorset and how the villagers tied tails to St.Augustine and his followers; whereupon, he called on the lord that all their children should be born with tails - which of course they were.. Stukeley said that the Giant went back to to Helis(Hercules). As it has such early legends, I'm inclined to believe there was something there. ;)