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SPECTACULAR SYMBOLS Crop Circles OF 2007 SPECTACULAR SYMBOLS Crop CIRCLES 2007 This year's season featured an array of ingenious and original patterns, some exhibiting unusual design perspectives, as well as interesting surveillance stories and more speculation about the purpose of this enduring phenomenon. ast year's UK crop circle season was perceived by some as disappointing. Despite several impressive glyphs, it was very late to start and there was a notable reduction in numbers compared with previous years. England remains the hub of global circular activity and mostly encapsulates the overall scene. As such, even other previously circle-blossoming countries seemed to be on a go-slow in 2006. The British media gleefully printed prematurely dark obituaries for the phenomenon. With this in mind, 2007 was approached by some with trepidation that a downward slide would continue. They needn't have worried. This year the first formation arrived earlier than in many seasons before it, and as the months went by this enduring mystery produced many ambitious designs to match their forebears. Some hailed it as a renaissance year for the crop circles, the general perception of enthusiasts being that the phenomenon had undergone a major revival. Interestingly, in truth, what we experienced in 2007 was a holding operation: there were almost exactly the same number of UK crop formations as in the previous year, with around 50 reported. The early start and a renewed concentration of activity in the Wiltshire heartlands (at the mysterious expense of suddenly circle-bereft counties like Sussex and Norfolk) perhaps gave a misleading impression of abundance. But neither was there a further reduction in overall numbers, and the ingenuity of some of the crop glyphs was undeniably dazzling. All this helped create a better feeling amongst circle-watchers than had been experienced for some time. Indeed, driving around the Avebury area of Wiltshire, seeing crop formations on virtually every horizon, felt like a throwback to so-called circular "golden ages" of yore. It was certainly a surprise to receive the first event of the year as early as 15th April, near the Iron Age hill fort of Oliver's Castle, Wiltshire. A huge ring containing seven arches, it was not only one of the more complex openings to a season for some time, but also the largest circular design ever discovered in oilseed rape (canola)—an impressive and mystically teasing 333 feet in diameter (curiously, the width of the outer ring was 33 feet). A healthy smattering of intricate and beautiful formations then peppered Wiltshire in April and May—remembering that 2006 didn't see the first "proper" design appear until June. This time, by early June, most of the traditional regions had already been targeted with advanced creations such as the bizarre pyramidal complex of shapes which appeared on 7th June below the white horse carving overlooking the famous Alton Barnes area. The first Wiltshire formation to make national newsprint was the very unusual pictorial emblem found next to the ancient West Kennett long barrow on 28th June. Etched within a square of standing crop was a clear representation of a chequer-floored corridor with doors opening from it, designed with clever (if not entirely accurate) perspective. Described by some hopeful Egyptology buffs as a representation of an ancient temple or the alleged lost "Hall of Records" below the Giza plateau, and by others as having connections to da Vinci's Last Supper fresco, more bookish observers pointed out its similarity to an illustration from a modern edition of Alice in Wonderland. One way or another, it seemed we were being led "down the rabbit-hole". The most controversial event of the year occurred at Alton Barnes in the early hours of 7th July with the arrival of a huge array of expanding and diminishing circles forming arches across the acres known as East Field, a major circle-site of old. Not necessarily pleasing as a piece of design (though some speculated it might represent the holy Aum symbol), its scale, at 1,033 feet in total length, was more impressive. It was impossible to grasp its overall layout when standing within it. What distinguished this formation to make by Andy Thomas © 2007 3 Old House Courtyard Southover High Street Lewes, East Sussex BN7 1HT, UK Email: info@swirlednews.com Websites: http://www.swirlednews.com http://www. vitalsignspublishing.co.uk http://www.changingtimes.org.uk by Andy Thomas © 2007 3 Old House Courtyard Southover High Street Lewes, East Sussex BN7 1HT, UK NEXUS * 55 OCTOBER — NOVEMBER 2007 www.nexusmagazine.com