Uffington Post
Oct. 13th, 2010 06:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
steepholmI see a retired vet has claimed that the Uffington White Horse is actually a dog:
"Anatomically it's not a horse at all," Mr Swarbrick said. "It's too long and too lean and it has a long tail - horses don't have a tail the length of that stylised creature at Uffington."
Some might say that the clue lies in the word "stylized", Mr Swarbrick. Still, as long as the matter's been raised, I may as well share my own theory, which is that the creature on White Horse Hill is
...a kangaroo.
As this anatomical comparison demonstrates, the Uffington White Roo has the same powerful hind legs, the long balancing tail, the alert posture and the pugilistic stance we have come to associate with Australia's favourite marsupial. How such an intimate knowledge of kangaroos spread to Bronze Age Britain is a puzzle I leave to wiser heads to solve. I think the Spice Road may have had something to do with it. Or trade winds. Or... something. But can we wonder that these noble creatures inspired such awe and reverence in our ancient ancestors?
"Anatomically it's not a horse at all," Mr Swarbrick said. "It's too long and too lean and it has a long tail - horses don't have a tail the length of that stylised creature at Uffington."
Some might say that the clue lies in the word "stylized", Mr Swarbrick. Still, as long as the matter's been raised, I may as well share my own theory, which is that the creature on White Horse Hill is
...a kangaroo.
As this anatomical comparison demonstrates, the Uffington White Roo has the same powerful hind legs, the long balancing tail, the alert posture and the pugilistic stance we have come to associate with Australia's favourite marsupial. How such an intimate knowledge of kangaroos spread to Bronze Age Britain is a puzzle I leave to wiser heads to solve. I think the Spice Road may have had something to do with it. Or trade winds. Or... something. But can we wonder that these noble creatures inspired such awe and reverence in our ancient ancestors?