Lost Figures
Since hill figures must be maintained by the removal of regrown turf, only those that motivate the local populace to look after them survive. Ancient figures all have an associated fair or ceremony that involves maintaining them.
Unmaintained figures gradually fade away. Firle Corn at Firle Beacon, Sussex could be a lost figure. Its existence is suggested by infrared photography. If it is a lost figure, its age is uncertain, and unlikely prehistoric in origin, as only one figure in the UK has been shown to be of this age, the Uffington White Horse.
There have been horses at Devizes and Pewsey, both in Wiltshire, that have been lost but replaced by new ones in the 20th century.
According to the Hillfigure Homepage, there have been 19 military badges at Fovant that have been lost, although a 'YMCA' badge and a map of Australia at Compton Chamberlayne have also become lost recently.
Read more about this topic: Hill Figure
Famous quotes containing the words lost and/or figures:
“To regard one’s immortality as an exchange of matter is as strange as predicting the future of a violin case once the expensive violin it held has broken and lost its worth.”
—Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904)
“She, while her lover pants upon her breast,
Can mark the figures on an Indian chest.”
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744)