Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) has produced an unexpected date
for the famed Cerne Abbas Giant in England.

<https://www.essexlive.news/news/uk-world-news/cerne-abbas-giant-surprise s-scientists-5403358>

Contrary to all the previous guesses about when the Giant was created,
with dates ranging all the way from the Bronze Age to the Seventeenth
Century, the chalk figure was probably made sometime between AD 700 and
1100.

"The Cerne Abbas Giant was probably first constructed in the late Saxon
period, according to new analysis which has surprised archaeologists and historians.

The 180ft (55m) naked chalk figure brandishing a giant club overlooks
the village of Cerne Abbas in Dorset.

Its origins and purpose have been shrouded in mystery, but experts can
for the first time reveal the likely age of the giant.

Following state-of-the-art sediment analysis, National Trust
archaeologists have concluded the giant was probably first constructed
in the late Saxon period."
[...]
"Material taken from the deepest layer (3ft/1m) yielded a date range of 700-1100AD, which suggests the giant was first made by late Saxons.

National Trust senior archaeologist Martin Papworth said: ³The
archaeology on the hillside was surprisingly deep people have been
re-chalking the giant over a long period of time.

³The deepest sample from his elbows and feet tells us he could not have
been made before 700AD, ruling out theories that he is of prehistoric or
Roman origin.

³This probable Saxon date places him in a dramatic part of Cerne history.

³Nearby Cerne Abbey was founded in 987AD and some sources think the
abbey was set up to convert the locals from the worship of an early
Anglo Saxon god known as ŒHeil¹ or ŒHelith¹."

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