Ground Report - Burderop Down, Wiltshire, 14th June 2020

Even after a few days of rain and visitors, this formation was still in very good condition, with stems, flow and overlapping areas fully intact.

It seems to me to be all about the overlap in this crop circle, with each of the standing and laid shapes defined by a narrow, always clockwise pathway, which interveaves its way from circumference to circumference throughout. With each section of this pathway laying over the last, it is very difficult to discern which came in what order, such is the consistency. There are certain areas of cross over where up to three pathways overlap, each in a different direction to the section above or below.

 As with the formation at Cley Hill a few weeks ago, there are examples of stems laying in opposite directions, however, in this circle, these are frequent and an integral part of the design. Where each of the laid pathways which define the shapes flow clockwise, the laid areas within each 'teardrop' do the same. This results in the laid stems at the outer edge of each section meeting the defining pathways directly, causing a significant raised area every time. This is a key feature in the ground detail of this crop circle.

There are also many examples of 'gap seeking' where relatively wide swathes of laid stems have altered their direction (consistently clockwise) to follow gaps through towards other parts of the design. To do this, these sections of crop have significantly changed direction, sometimes even curving in an anti-clockwise motion instead of following the natural flow.

The condition of the laid crop throughout the formation is very good, with very little damage to stems evident in most parts, and many examples of sections which have not been laid flat to the ground.

 The swirled centres at the wider and of each of the laid 'teardrop' sections are consistent and show a clear, clockwise flow, with large sections of stems defining the overall shapes.

The image below shows a final, intriguing feature, the like of which I have seen only twice before...

An area of crop on the edge of a standing section within the design appears to have been laid and then 'lifted' back up, almost as if to correct an error within the geometry. The stems have not recovered through phototropism in this section, but they are not flattened in the same way as in all other areas. This gives the appearance of a messy piece of crop, but one which does not seem to affect the overall design. From aerial photos, it is very difficult to see where this actually lies.

Previous formations which exhibited this phenomenon were South Field, Wiltshire, 2008 and Honey Street, Wiltshire, 2011 (see links below).

South Field 2008 

Honey Street 2011

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