Ground Report – Etchilhampton (2), Wiltshire, 28/07/12

The scale of this formation really is a key feature. Spanning nearly 7 tramlines, it is one of the largest of this season and simply stunning to see. Standing within it, as is often the case, it is barely possible to make out one side from the other. Certainly any attempt to decipher the overall design from ground level would be challenging.

Located at opposite ends of the central ‘spur’ are two raised ‘nests’. We have seen these in recent years although they are a relatively uncommon feature. In this formation they have been created with a spiral of woven stems, a few inches high, which surrounds a central area containing various tufts of knotted and woven wheat.

Moving around the formation, there are so many circles to explore, many of them with beautiful central tufts, often surrounded by swirled crop.

These tufts vary in size, sometimes comprising large bunches of stems (as in the image above) and sometimes only a few. In every case the surrounding crop is laid clockwise and there is generally a lightness to how it appears to have been laid.

Detailed investigation in some of the circles, at various points around the design, reveals some finer and more unusual features within the laid crop. Two examples include a subtle hexagonal flow to the crop in the largest of all the circles, as well as some deviation from the clockwise flow, creating different layers within another of the larger circles.

Some evidence of the hexagonal flow can be seen in the image below, but this is only just visible in a handful of aerial shots.

Finally, the central circle within the design contains a ‘split’ standing tuft. This is made from a large bunch of stems which surround a central laid area. The central area crosses from one side to the other, almost like a pathway through the middle.

Crop Circle Summary

New Circles

Ground Report

Gallery

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