SUSSEX CROP CIRCLES 2003 - REPORT #1

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Code:  SUSSEX 2003/01

Location:  CLIFFE HILL, nr LEWES, EAST SUSSEX

Reported:  26th April 2003, but appeared "two weeks earlier"
Crop:  Oilseed rape
Design:  Single circle
Dimensions:  56ft diameter
Surveyed by: Allan Brown & Andy Thomas, 27th April 2003


REPORT:  This classic single circle lies just to the north of Cliffe Hill, a ridge of downland which runs north-east from the East Sussex town of Lewes to the Glyndebourne area.  An ancient long barrow tops the crest of the hill, and other tumuli are scattered around.  Crop circles have appeared in the general area before.

The 56ft circle is visible in the distance on the left when driving on the B2192 from the village of Ringmer towards Lewes, though it is not starkly obvious.  The farmer tells us that the circle appeared "around two weeks earlier", putting its arrival at about 12th April - which would appear to make this the first official UK formation of the year.  It is the earliest in the year a Sussex crop circle has ever been documented.

Given that the circle has been there so long, there is a lot of crop recovery inside.  Some stems (three to four feet high) seem quite happily bent without any damage, whilst others are cracked.  However, the farmer informs us that his workers visited it, and probably other people besides, so it is hard to tell much from the floor lay at this distance from its first appearance.  The stems seem clean and generally unscuffed, though. The flow is swirled clockwise and there is a nice standing centre which is offset from the mathematical centre by about three feet.

This area has been associated with paranormal events before.  Over the years, there have been reports of a shimmering demonic figure, about 10ft tall, seen near the Cliffe Hill long barrow, howling in an unearthly and terrifying scream, scaring livestock and humans alike.  One of these accounts comes first-hand from a personal friend who is a devout sceptic on all things strange, and others have also reportedly seen the same apparition.  Whether this has any relationship to the crop circle or not is another matter, but we thought it worth reporting!

We hope to obtain an aerial photograph of the circle soon.

Report by ANDY THOMAS
Southern Circular Research / www.swirlednews.com (C) Copyright 2003