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Image David Russell Copyright 2001
Image Melanie Gambrill
Copyright 2001
Click on Thumbnails to enlarge
Images Melanie Gambrill
Copyright 2001
The formation is beautifully positioned on an east facing slope so that the sun sets behind it. A
number of the smaller rings have a circle of standing crop with a flattened cross - the crop is
splayed outwards into the ring from this flattened feature (see photo). The snaking pathway
running through the rings/circles forms part of these crosses. The division of these rings into
quarters is perhaps symbolic of the sun. The serpent-like shape of the formation also hints at a
link with the sun since ancient cultures used the serpent to represent the path of the sun
through the sky. The second largest circle is distinguished by a neat crescent shape of
standing crop. The centre of this circle has a lovely swirl (see photo). Between many of the
circles there is a thin standing curtain of crop (see photo) which is only a few stems wide.
Such curtains may have existed between all the circles and been damaged by early visitors to
the formation. When standing in the smallest circle you cannot see the largest of the 17
circles. The whole formation snakes down the slope, drawing you to it's 'tail end'. A short
distance from this end of the formation is a rectangular area where crop has not been sown.
This contains some lovely wild flowers, previously undiscovered in the field.
Report by Melanie Gambrill
Field Report
Image Andy Thomas Copyright 2001
A mile south from another new formation which arrived on the same night at Ditchling Beacon
(see separate report), an elaborate 'thought bubble'-type design has appeared (probably in
wheat but unconfirmed) and can be seen clearly and dramatically when looking west from the
road which runs across the downs from Ditchling Beacon to the A27 (it lies nearest the A27
end). It was first reported to the local paper 'The Argus'.
It is in the same field where a complex fractal design appeared last year and is one field south
from a field which played host to a single rape circle in 1994. Across the hill to the west,
Patcham had several formations in the early 1990's.
The pattern is effectively a large circle connected to a slightly smaller ring with a small circle
perched within it. What looks from the road like 14 increasingly smaller rings then follow on
from this (number to be confirmed), all connected, diminishing to very small size. A thin
pathway snakes across the centres of all the rings, forming a backbone to the formation. All
circles and rings appear to be anticlockwise.
The formation is striking and attractive, though the meandering central pathway could be
construed as suspicious by the sceptical. However, the observation made by one reporter that
the proximity of the University of Sussex is a dubious factor is fairly meaningless, given that
the University is about two miles away and that most students are on leave for the summer
anyway. As Barry Reynolds says: "How many formations have NOT appeared within three
miles of an educational establishment?".
Further details and aerial shots will hopefully follow soon. (Thanks to David Kingston for
relaying the initial report.)
Field Report by
ANDY THOMAS
Southern Circular Research & Swirled News
Image Andy Thomas Copyright 2001
Addendum report by ANDY THOMAS of Southern Circular Research, 31st July.
Our survey team went into this formation last night, with permission of the farmer, who we
thank for his cooperation.
The formation can now be confirmed as being in BARLEY and not wheat as previously
supposed. Like most barley formations, the lay is on the shaggy side, as barley doesn't lay
as flat as wheat, but things are generally neat.
The overall length of the formation is around 570'! The largest circle at the top of the 'thought
bubble' is 128' diameter, and the rings (which range in width from 4' to 8') descend in size thus:
103', 83', 51', 36', 27', 20', 16', 15', 15', 15', 12' 13', 12', 9', 9', 6'. All lay is anticlockwise, with
the exception of one of the very small rings.
The pattern is slightly spoilt by a thin pathway which runs through every ring, but this appears
integral to the main formation as it underlies the lay of large circle. This will inevitably raise
some scepticism, but it should be noted that there have been several crop patterns across the
country, widely accepted by most researchers as non-man-made, which have also exhibited
this effect, using a pathway as a spine. This path has clearly been made wider and messier
since the formation's appearance by visitors using it for easy access across the length of the
pattern, and has since been extended outside it by people going to look at a nearby bare patch
in the field.
Clearly visible in the crop are many examples of stalks clearly bent AT THE NODE to effect
curvature of the crop (not possible by physical bending), particularly where ring edges meet
tramlines. This does not appear to be phototropism, where crop naturally bends up to the
light. There are also examples of crop bending around corners where small rings touch each
other and the flow of the lay continues in.
Grass and thistles are caught up in the lay in some areas with no apparent damage to the
brittle thistle stems.
Diagrams by Barry Reynolds and Martin Noakes will hopefully appear on
www.cropcircleconnector soon, together with aerial photos.
ADDENDUM REPORTS #2
These reports follow on from our previous details and do not replace those.
Addendum report by ANDY THOMAS of Southern Circular Research, 1st August.
A new addition has appeared in the field, just west of the end of the long tail of the 'thought
bubble'. First spotted while driving past today, it is a very small circle with four tight rings
around it, perhaps measuring around 20-25' across.
Southern Circular Research has been operating since 1991 and gathers and disseminates
information on Sussex crop circles. it meets once a month at its headquarters in Burgess Hill,
West Sussex, and operates a global circle news website at www.swirlednews.com
FURTHER INFORMATION: Contact ANDY THOMAS on info@swirlednews.com |
