David Miles

Oxford archaeologist David Miles takes an in-depth look at Oxfordshire’s most famous ancient monument, the White Horse at Uffington.

The White Horse is a 120-yard-long figure carved into the hillside in Uffington in the early first millennium BC. People have speculated about its origins for centuries – from being a memorial to King Alfred the Great’s victory over the Danes to a prehistoric banner announcing the territory of a tribe. Miles says what is most remarkable is that the White Horse is still there and that people have cared for it over the centuries.

Miles is a former director of Oxford Archaeological Unit and chief archaeologist at English Heritage. He is author of many books on archaeology including The Tribes of Britain, on the origins of the British.