Updated Wednesday 11th June 1997
An aerial shot by Lucy Pringle Copyright 1997.
Diagram by John Sayer (Thank you!) Copyright 1997
Sunday, 20th. April 1997. Crop circle in oilseed rape below Barbury Castle (to the north-east (SU 157777)?). Very similar to last year's Littlebury Green, Essex formation: ringed circle with six half-crescents (clockwise direction) fanning out to outline. Overall diameter is c. 160'. Central circle 18-20', diameter of standing ring 48-50', diameters of seven rings which form basis of design 78-80'. There is also a 3-4' grapeshot nearby. Diagram attached in jpg and gif format.
Field Report
What an opener to the 1997 Crop Circle Season! Near to the ancient Hill Fort of Barbury Castle, lying north east to the hill itself, and adjacent to the main road, is the most impressive and largest formation to be seen in Oil Seed Rape. Its certainly the earliest, and formed on Sunday morning the 20th of April, which has surprised many including both Mark and myself.
The formation resembles Littlebury Green in Essex last year, incorporating six outer half moon crescents which fan out from a large inner ring which is made from each of the crescents themselves. A standing ring surrounds a central circle some 20ft in diameter, that lies within the central sections of each crescent.
The floor construction is clockwise, this also includes the central circle, with many stems still intact, and with no bruising visible. Some of the stems were snapped at the base of the stem, but we must take into consideration the brittleness of this delicate crop! The floor pattern with each crescent was directed towards the crescent walls, almost 90 degrees. A small pathway of rape, outlines each inner crescent wall, with a link outer pathway connecting every arm of the crescents.
The whole design is some 170 feet in diameter, with small pathways which link each crescent as it fans from the central section of the formation. The crescents themselves merge into each other, creating a Catherine wheel effect!
Report by Stuart Dike.
Ground shots by Steve Alexander. Copyright 1997.
The file is 1009K and is a 20 seconds video view of the formation .
