Firle Beacon is a hill in the

South Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the east. ...

of southern

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is 217 metres high and is a Marilyn. It commands a far-reaching view. When the prevailing wind is northerly, the site is often used for gliding activities like slope soaring.

Barrows

In the area of Firle Beacon is a

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

long barrow Long barrows are a style of monument constructed across Western Europe in the fifth and fourth millennia BCE, during the Early Neolithic period. Typically constructed from earth and either timber or stone, those using the latter material repres ...

and several

round barrow A round barrow is a type of tumulus and is one of the most common types of archaeological monuments. Although concentrated in Europe, they are found in many parts of the world, probably because of their simple construction and universal purpose. ...

s.Richard Wainwright. ''A Guide to the Prehistoric Remains in Britain. Volume 1: South and East''. Constable, 1978. Page 231. Round barrows generally date from the

early Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

. At Firle Beacon itself () is a

bowl barrow A bowl barrow is a type of burial mound or tumulus. A barrow is a mound of earth used to cover a tomb. The bowl barrow gets its name from its resemblance to an upturned bowl. Related terms include ''cairn circle'', ''cairn ring'', ''howe'', ''ke ...

, about in diameter and high. It was opened in 1820; finds included two

cremation urn An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape or ...

s. The long barrow, 220m west of Firle Beacon (), is about long, wide and high. It has an east–west orientation, and has a surrounding ditch, more noticeable on the northern side. There are other round barrows within a kilometre of Firle Beacon, to the west and east.

Firle Corn

Firle Corn, high on the north-east slope of Firle Beacon, is a nearly lost

hill figure A hill figure is a large visual representation created by cutting into a steep hillside and revealing the underlying geology. It is a type of geoglyph usually designed to be seen from afar rather than above. In some cases trenches are dug and r ...

, possibly

gigantotomy A hill figure is a large visual representation created by cutting into a steep hillside and revealing the underlying geology. It is a type of geoglyph usually designed to be seen from afar rather than above. In some cases trenches are dug and r ...

, seen using

infrared photography ''Top:'' tree photographed in the near infrared range. ''Bottom:'' same tree in the visible part of the spectrum. In infrared photography, the film or image sensor used is sensitive to infrared light. The part of the spectrum used is r ...

. It looks like a small

ear of corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The ...

, but what it depicts is unknown. Legend suggests a giant called Gill was cut on this hill and considered an adversary of the nearby

Long Man of Wilmington The Long Man of Wilmington or Wilmington Giant is a hill figure on the steep slopes of Windover Hill near Wilmington, East Sussex, England. It is northwest of Eastbourne and south of Wilmington. Locally, the figure was once often called the ...

; one story says the Firle Beacon giant threw his hammer at the Wilmington giant and killed him, and the hill figure marks this site.Scraps of Folklore Collected by John Philipps Emslie, C. S. Burne, ''Folklore'', Vol. 26, No. 2. (Jun. 30, 1915), pp. 153–170.
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References

{{Hill figure Marilyns of England Hills of East Sussex Barrows in the United Kingdom

Beacon A beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a specific location. A common example is the lighthouse, which draws attention to a fixed point that can be used to navigate around obstacles or into port. More mode ...

Gliding in England

Barrows

Firle Corn

See also

References