Sompting, nr Worthing, West Sussex. Reported 14th June.

FIELD REPORT

I, and my friend, Volker Vogel, visited the 'Celtic cross' formation at Sompting, West Sussex, on July 4th 1999, which incidentally was the alleged date of the end of the world!

At first we were concerned about not being able to locate the formation seeing as we were on the ground. However, our fears were unfounded as we passed the traffic lights at Sompting and saw a massive shape jump out at us to the hill on the left. We could tell from the angle that it was in a Celtic cross, in similar design to the one that appeared in the same field in June 1993.

However, when comparing it to the photographs in Andy Thomas's book 'Fields of Mystery' we realised that this formation was much larger than the original.

As we were on a dual carriageway we had to find a suitable place to cross to the other side of the road. We accidentally turned up the road to Sompting Church believing, as your website instructs, that the formation was to the West, but in fact we had to drive along the carriageway East of the church to get to the field containing the formation. Thankfully, the picture provided on the website enabled us to recognise where it was, with the copse to the west and the pylons overhead as landmarks. It was a very exciting experience to enter the field as this was the first crop circle I had ever seen with my own eyes...and it was also memorable in that I had an interest in them since 1990 and yet had never seen one before.

DETAILS: The formation consisted of a large centre circle with four little rings connected by a path on the outside. The design is the same (but larger) as the previous one six years ago that appears on P.53 of 'Fields of Mystery'.

The outer circles were flowing in a clockwise direction, and the way the light caught the crop gave the impression that the formation was moving/swirling around, and the effect was mesmerising. The four outer circles were connected by a ring flowing anti-clockwise. The large centre was also flowing anti-clockwise in contrast to the outer rings. In the centre ring, some of the crops weren't as flattened as the others as they were a different type of plant. The swirls at the centre of the crop circle were especially marked and it appeared as if the crop had been flattened by a powerful force. This was accentuated by the tractor lines which ran through the formation, where the crops on the edge of these looked strongly forced down as if a strong pressure had flattened them right to the ground.

POINTS OF INTEREST:

1- A point of suspicion came into our minds when we noticed a large hole in the middle of the formation, which brought the suspicion that it could have been faked, as a point in the centre would have enabled to create the effect of a compass where the circlemakers could create a perfect circle. However, seeing as this formation was first spotted on June 14th, it could have been where researchers had measured the size of the crop circle (to confirmed the SC team surveyed the formation and made the hole in the centre). It would seem odd if hoaxers had left a massive hole in the middle, as was there, as this would betray their craft and create suspicion in visitors. The top left circle (assuming you are looking north from the A27) didn't seem as well constructed as the other outer circles, giving the impression it was rushed. A local man we spoke to seemed somewhat sceptical, believing mistakenly that we had done it, yet he hadn't actually seen the formation and the amazing configuration of it.

2- As we both entered the circle we took pictures and the symmetry of the formation was amazing, although we couldn't see it from the air to check its symmetry from above. We climbed a tree nearby and this gave us a view over the formation and it appeared symmetric and visually stunning.

3- There were birds feathers scattered around the formation, which seemed odd, but no carcasses apart from the one later found. (perhaps this was to do with the gunshots, see point 6)

4-As we entered the circle we both experienced strong headaches and a feeling of weight around the temples. It was surprising that we both felt this, and we could feel a certain energy though we couldn't explain it. We felt a bit dizzy but we thought that it was because of the mesmerising effect of the formation's swirls. Our headaches subsided out of the circle but then returned when we re-entered it. As we sat in the centre, we felt somewhat agoraphobic.

5- Important to note was the fact that large electricity pylons were nearby , perhaps creating the headaches felt but we will have to go to a formation not near a power supply to see whether we get the same effect.

6-Towards the evening, frequent gunshots were heard coming from the copse near the church, to the west. And then something rained down nearby which sounded like electricity, although we thought it could be bits of salt from the gun to scare off birds. However, we couldn't help feeling that we were the targets so we exited as we had seen enough. As we left, we noticed an eaten dead pigeon and then a dead rabbit recently dead....we weren't sure how that happened and when as we didn't notice it on the way in. There was a little pattern leaving the bottom left of the formation which seemed like a little arrow, although we couldn't see it from above to be sure. I notice that the 1993 formation had a similar thing leading off that.

After the visit we were willing to return, and hopefully we'll find the other formation at Sompting soon, and hopefully we'll see many more formations this summer.

Reported by Benjamin Compson.