Vale of White Horse being removed to show the white chalky soil beneath. This figure gives name to the hill, the range and the Vale. It is 114 m (374 ft) long and highly stylised, the neck, body and tail varying little in width. The origin of the figure is unknown. Tradition asserted it to be the monument of a victory over the Danes by King Alfred, who was born at Wantage, but the site of the Battle of Ashdown (871 CE), has been variously located. Moreover, the figure has been dated to the Bronze Age, so it pre-dates the battle by many centuries.
Battle of Basra (871) placed the city under virtual siege, harassing it with attacks day and night and destroying the surrounding villages. They also cut off the supply routes to the city, which soon resulted in a shortage of resources. This was temporarily relieved after Mansur ibn Ja'far began organizing armed escorts for supply ships; by mid-871, however, the operation of the convoys had largely fallen apart and supplies for the inhabitants again became scarce. Hunger and disease broke out, and fighting erupted between the city factions. By late August 871, 'Ali ibn Muhammad decided that Basra had been reduced to the point where