Uffington White Horse - the most elegant geoglyph in the world

Mysterious geoglyphs are found not only on the Nazca Plateau in South America, but also in many other places on the globe. Moreover, images of various figures can be made not only of stone, but also in a very complex way, for example, made using pieces of chalk. We invite you to look at the English geoglyph called Uffington horse.

This geoglyph has a length of 110 meters and, thanks to its smooth lines and original shape, resembles a drawing of a modern designer rather than the angular structure of ancient people. Nevertheless, archaeologists recognize this image as an ancient geoglyph, although its exact age has not yet been established. Most researchers believe that the Uffington Horse was created around the 10th century BC.

The Uffington White Horse is located in the English county of Oxfordshire, 2.5 kilometers from Uffington. The horse's figure is made using trenches that are filled with pieces of chalk. Its existence was first mentioned in records of the XI century. True, during the Middle Ages, local residents believed that this was an image of a dragon, although in our time not everyone agrees that this is a horse. A number of researchers suggest that the figure depicts a dog or even a cat, although such a curved long neck is more likely to be characteristic of horses.

Until the end of the 19th century, the hill with the image of a white horse was considered a cult place, and every 7 years the image was cleaned of grass during the holiday. The pieces of chalk from which the horse was laid quickly overgrown, so without proper care this geoglyph began to merge with the surrounding area. Nevertheless, during World War II it could still be seen from the air, so the British, who were afraid that German pilots might use the white horse as a guide, specifically closed the geoglyph with turf.

Today, the Uffington White Horse is recognized as an object of high archaeological value, and therefore is under state protection. Scientists continue to study the ancient monument and maintain the geoglyph in its original state, preventing the grass from sneaking beyond the outline of the image.