And totem has suddenly appeared in the south east coast of england. No one seems to know who put it there or why. But speculation abounds and the unanswered questions surrounding him only add to his enigma.
“The fact that no one has appropriated it makes it a mystery,” says a hiker. “That’s what’s exciting, isn’t it? It’s like our local Banksy, isn’t it?” says another.
The 2.4 meter pole is carved from the wood of a single tree. It bears the inscription Perknas 2023, referring to the Baltic god of lightning and thunder.
Ceri Houlbrooka professor of folklore and history at the University of Hertfordshire, says: “I love the amount of folklore and stories it has already generated.”
People “already describe it as a kind of guardian of that specific area. Whatever the reasons why it was placed there, people have already assigned it their own purposes,” he adds.