The Longman as it is Now

The Long Man of Wilmington is a huge figure cut into the side of a hill in the South Downs in Sussex, England. It is one of the biggest images of a man in the entire world. He is drawn standing, and holding what appear to be two staves on either side of him.

Above the Giant, on the hillside, are several barrows. There is another long barrow to the East on the hill called "Hunters Burgh", a name by which it has been known since Elizabethan times. A large round barrow above the giant was found to be a very high status burial, which contained a cremation urn as well as several flints. At the time of excavation, it was believed to have been the barrow of a bronze age chieftain. The excavated contents have since been lost.

It is a bit of a hike up to the fence at the bottom of the giant. Visitors are no longer allowed to actually go up to the giant, due to damage that occurred due to foot traffic. The manis an impressive sight, and the barrows are clearly visible as being such. There was a very large mound next to the giant, which I felt an urge to climb. At the top, we were rewarded with an amazing view of the beautiful Sussex countryside. Wildflowers bloomed everywhere, and the children began collecting poppies, and I started taking some photos of the scenery from the vanatge point atop the mound. I was shocked when I got the pictures back and a white mist appeared in one of them. This picture was taken with an ordinary 35 mm camera, with 400 speed film. None of the other photos taken on the mound had anything out of the ordinary.

Atop the Mound

As we sat there, we did notice a feeling of energy vibration, just like at Stonehenge and other places of power. The Long Man does, indeed, appear on a ley line, one of the "official" ley lines in Ley Hunter's Companion by Paul Deveraux. The man is also on a three point ley line sitting in the middle between Folkington Church and Alfriston Church. One of the theories put forth about the identity of the Long Man is that he was the person who laid out the original lines , with his staves.

Incidentally, two crop circles have been reported in the area as well. The first was near the Long Man in 1990, in a shape similar to a yin-yang. The second appeared in 1995 west of the village of Wilmington, and had a circular shape, with lines connected.

I also discovered, upon doing some research, that the hill is one of the places along the downs said to be haunted by Black Dogs that follow one around, with the sounds of paws walking that stop when one stops. These Black Dog stories are fairly common throughout England - they are probably a connection to older myths of the Saxons or Britons.

Long Man Folklore & legends...