A  frantic circle hunt across the countryside surrounding the Liddington Castle area of Wiltshire yielded nothing, not grapeshot in sight. We had all but given up hope of finding this new arrival when, from junction 15, M4 motorway bridge we spotted the formation in a field of fast maturing barley. A collective sigh of relief emanated from the car as we panned across to our left. Splashed across four tramlines and at a rather shallow angle from this vantage point, we were able to discern a couple of rings and something of a complex nature within.

The urge to get in the formation for a closer look now became a matter of the utmost urgency.

As luck would have it, there turned out to be a grassy footpath leading to the formation.  Even better, no F&M notices, no irate farmer, good parking. All very weird indeed. 



As we entered the glyph it became quickly apparent that this was a very substantial undertaking indeed. Spanning some 220ft across the center of the field is a formation that has incorporated within, something old and something new.  

Something Old 

At the center of the formation is a 3D style circular grid or chessboard, rather reminiscent of the ?Pillow? formation from Windmill Hill, Avebury, in 2000. This time this style of feature has been compressed into a relatively small area creating an even more impressive effect when viewed from the air, something akin to a globe popping out of the ground.

Within the central arrangement of shapes the barley has been laid down in a most impressive and unusual manner. Huge swirls and waves abound throughout this area. At a glance the whole thing appears to have gone down in a huge rush. Even though this chaotic floor-lay is readily apparent the overall effect is coherent and pleasing with no discernable mistakes or errors.

Something New 

Moving out from the center there is, what appears to be a huge serpent or snake, swallowing its tail, laying just inside the outer most ring. A head and a tongue are clearly discernable from the aerial shots. Also the inclusion of (approx) 136 small incisions in the standing crop on the inside of the snake feature gives this aspect of the design a beautiful, fluid and quite unique quality. All of this, plus the fact that the barley has been laid down in such a way as to give the snake a backbone left us rather impressed.  A single grapeshot within the body of the formation was also something that gave us something more to ponder on.

Overall the formation has a chaotic fluidity on the ground that makes perfect sense when viewed from the air, a pleasure to visit. 

A Possible Interpretation. 

An Ouroboros devouring it's own tail is an emblem of completion, wholeness and eternity.  It also depicts time and continuity of the union of opposites or seen as a symbol of self-fertilization or the primitive idea of a self-sufficient Nature which continually returns within a cyclic pattern to it's own beginning.

© 2001 Charles R Mallett