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'Northumberlandia' land sculpture under construction near Cramlington, Northumberland, northern England. Some observers call it Slag Alice. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

Princess Anne unveils UK giant land sculpture

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf
'Northumberlandia' land sculpture under construction near Cramlington, Northumberland, northern England. Some observers call it Slag Alice. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.
‘Northumberlandia’ land sculpture under construction near Cramlington, Northumberland, northern England. Some observers call it Slag Alice. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

LONDON (AP) – Princess Anne unveiled a giant goddess sculpted from rock, earth and waste reclining in the remains of an open coal mine in northern England.

The private ceremony Monday formally declared that the 1,300-foot-long figure, named Northumberlandia, has been completed. The female figure predictably has divided local opinion, with one local official calling it ridiculous. Backers of the project hope it will attract thousands of visitors, and create jobs.

Visitors are able to scale the figure’s curves, but pilots flying into Newcastle airport get the best view.

American artist Charles Jencks designed the 3 million pound ($4.7 million) sculpture.

It is near Antony Gormley’s steel sculpture Angel of the North, which is about 12 miles away.

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AP-WF-09-03-12 1132GMT

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

'Northumberlandia' land sculpture under construction near Cramlington, Northumberland, northern England. Some observers call it Slag Alice. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.
‘Northumberlandia’ land sculpture under construction near Cramlington, Northumberland, northern England. Some observers call it Slag Alice. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.