Uffington White Horse
United Kingdom · Europe
Britain's oldest hill figure — a chalk horse that has been galloping across the downs for three thousand years
Age
~2,600–3,400 yrs
Period
Late Bronze–Early Iron Age
Setting
Open-air
Art form
Geoglyphs
Discovered
1738
Status
Open to Visitors (National Trust)
A sinuous, almost abstract horse 110 metres long is cut into the chalk high on the Berkshire Downs. Luminescence dating places its making in the late Bronze Age, between about 1400 and 550 BC, and it survives only because local people have "scoured" its lines clean for three millennia — a living ritual recorded since the Middle Ages. Its elegant minimal form echoes the horses of Iron Age coins.
Gallery
Notable Features
- ◦ The 110 m chalk horse
- ◦ Dragon Hill
- ◦ Uffington Castle hillfort
- ◦ The ancient scouring tradition
Depicted Subjects
Horse
Plan a Visit
AccessThis cave can be visited.
Sources & Further Reading
Hours & prices change — always confirm on the official site before travelling.
Photographs via Wikimedia Commons — image credits. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.