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Crop circles are not a modern phenomenon. They are mentioned in texts as far back as 1678, and
almost 200 reports, including eyewitness accounts, have been reported up to 1970. It was first
witnessed during modern times in 1972 by Arthur Shuttlewood and Bryce Bond, who had been
sitting on the slope of Star Hill near Warminster, England, hoping to catch a glimpse of the
strange unidentifyed flying craft that had made this part of England a UFO Mecca for almost a
decade. But what they witnessed on that moonlit night was something more extraordinary: a
hundred feet away they saw an imprint take shape, a large circular area of plants that collapsed
like a lady opening a fan. Since then some eighty eyewitnesses from as far away as British
Columbia have reported the formation of crop circles, which occur in under twenty seconds, often
accompanied by sightings of unusual balls of light, shafts of light or structured flying craft.

The designs appeared primarily as simple circles and variations on the Celtic cross up into the
mid-1980s. Then they developed straight lines and created pictograms. After 1990 they exploded
exponentially, and today it is not unusual to come across designs mimicking computer fractals,
some occupying areas as large as 200,000 sq feet. To date there have been over 9000 reported
and documented crop circles throughout the world, with some 90% emerging from England.
While many still go unreported each year, the emegence of the phenomenon in the world media
and the internet has allowed more reports to be lodged.

If you happen to buy the story that all crop circles were originated by two sexagenarians with
planks of wood, string and a weegie board, you are not in the minority. Once in a while,
governments like to control public interest in unexplained phenomena by generating a
disinformation method called 'debunking', a technique invented during the Cold War for the sad
purpose of controlling mass opinion in the face of unexplainable phenomena (this was the prime
motive of the 1953 Robertson Panel, details of which are obtained under the US Freedom of
Information Act). This method is very effective because the media provides little or no scientific
or factual data with which the public can form an educated opinion on the subject. This absence of
evidence is then replaced by ridiculing the subject through association with other 'fringe' topics;
so-called experts are brought-in to explain away all the events as freak weather conditions
or the work, general pranksters or sexually excited animals.

According to TV documentaries, all crop circles up to 1992 were made by two simple, elderly
men called Doug and Dave. It has since been discovered through undercover work by researchers
such as George Wingfield and Armen Victorian that the D&D story was tied to the British
Ministry of Defense- in collusion with the CIA, among others. Evidence supplied by a
high-ranking informant in the M.O.D suggested that the government had every intent to discredit
the phenomenon by putting forward two hoaxers in an effort to quell growing public interest in
crop circles (for a fuller story see Crop Circles History 1991). When confronted to provide
evidence on certain claimed formations, Doug and Dave changed their story and admited that "no,
we never made that one" or would simply remain silent when asked to explain the list of features
found in the genuine phenomenon; when they claimed making all the formations around the
English county of Hampshire it was pointed out that half the known formations had
occured in another county- "Er, no, we didn't do those either," they replied. In the end, not even
Doug and Dave knew which ones they had made. And although they claim to have made hoaxes
since 1978- the published date of the first design- evidence witheld confirms crop circles dating
back into the 1930s. The public has never heard these retractions, nor been given the opportunity
to compare the mess created by D&D with the mathematical symmetry of the real phenomenon.

In 1998, however, the surviving member of the deceptive duo did make the incredible admission
to British newspapers that he'd been guided by an unknown force.

Since Doug and Dave's inauguration many copycat hoaxers have appeared on the scene. Some do
it to disprove or derail researchers, some for profit, some because they are sociopaths, some
because they genuinely believe they can communicate back to the phenomenon (with very
interesting results, I may add). Prior to 1989 the hoaxing problem was virtually unheard of. After
1990 designs of man-made origin vary by year- in 1992 and 1998 it was as high as 90%, in 1996
as low as 20%.

That people with a good amount of training can go into a field and eventually create a coherent
pattern has never been the issue- recently, a group of known hoaxers was paid to go to
conveniently out-of-the-way New Zealand to make an elaborate formation for NBC. The
deceptive tactics used to trick a viewing public into accepting the hoax theory are dealt with here.

The issue is that no man-made crop circle has satisfactorily replicated the features associated with
the real phenomenon which has baffled scientists and researchers.Worldwide, some 4000 crop
circles have been created by a force totally at odds with modern science. Central to the hoax angle
is that a physical object is required to flatten the crop to the ground, resulting in the breaking of
the plant stems. In genuine formations the stems are not broken but bent (left), normally about an
inch off the ground at the plant's first node. The plants are subjected to a short and intense burst
of heat which softens the stems to drop just above the ground at 90ª, where they reharden into
their new and very permanent position without damaging the plants. Plant biologists are baffled by
this phenomenon and farmers, who know how the land ticks, are baffled by this. It is the
singlemost method of identifying the realphenomenon. Research and laboratory tests suggest that
microwave or ultrasound may be the only method capable of producing such an effect.

Crop circles are sometimes accompanied by trilling sounds, since captured on tape and analysed
by NASA as artificial in origin.

Other features that cannot be replicated by hoaxes are the plants' expandedepidermal walls, and
drastically extended node bends in fresh formations (normalright, crop circle far right); also
observed are distortions of seed embryos, and the creation of expulsion cavities in the plants as if
they have been heated from the inside.

In genuine formations there is also a disruption of comparative analysis of the plant's crystalline
structure, as these microscope photos demonstrate (left). Yet in all cases, the plants are not
damaged and will continue to grow and ripen if left untouched. This would not be possible had
they been trampled by force.

Genuine crop circles are areas of gently laid and swirled plants which create a floor inthe same
spiralled logarithmic proportions as the Fibonacci Series or Golden Mean, the vortex nature uses
to create precision organisms such as shells, sunflowers, the bones on the human hand and
galaxies; the floor of crop circles can have up to five layers of weaving, all in counterflow to each
other, with every seed head intact and placed beside each other as if arranged in a museum case;
the centres can either contain nested, woven, crested, or wreathed swatches of plants- sometimes
the center willconsist of a single standing plant. They are not perfectly round but slightly oval (a
hoax, requiring a fixed central rope, cannot achieve this adequately). Their edges are crisply
defined from the flattened crop as if drawn with a compass and incised with surgical precision.
Hoaxes, by comparison, bear a stylistic resemblance to tuffs of greasy, uncombed hair- and, of
course, all their plants have been trampled, bruised and crushed.

Other anomalies indicate the ability of the Circlemakers to increase infra red output within and
around a new formation, indicating that both the heat content of the plants and the watershed
have been affected.Evidence of four non-naturally occuring, short-life radioactive isotopes in the
soil inside genuine cropcircles as been detected (these dissipate after three or four hours), and the
soil in around them apppers to have been baked.

Mathematically, genuine crop circles encode obscure theorems based on Euclidian geometry as
well as the unalterable principles of sacred geometry. They have the capacity to alter the local
electromagnetic field so that compasses cannot locate north, cameras, cellular phones and
batteries fail to operate, and aircraft equipment fails whilst flyingover formations. Then there are
the geiger counters recording levels of background radiation up to 300% above normal, radio
frequencies falling dramatically within their perimeters, animals in local farms avoiding that
particular area of the field or simply acting agitated hours before one materializes, and car
batteries in entire villages failling to operate the morning after one is found nearby. In some of the
major events, local power outages are reported.

Genuine formations also materialize at crossing points along the Earth's magnetic energy currents,
influencing the energy pattern of local phehistoric sites. They often reference local Neolithic
features in size/shape/direction, and are dowsable upon entry, with as many as 150 concentric
rings of energy outside their physical perimeter. In fact, a year after they have been harvested and
the field ploughed and re-sown, the energy imprint of the formations will still be dowsed in the
same location, long after its physical traces have vanished.

This area of research has allowed for the possibility of crop circles as a healing force, and they are
already being successfully employed in resonance therapy around the world, either using people or
environments in distress.

They are generally formed at night between the hours of 11:30 PM and 4AM, traditionally during
the shortest evenings of the English year when darkness lasts but four hours, in fields eagerly
watched by farmers, military, laser alarms, scientists or hundreds of enthusiasts in their sleeping
bags hoping to be the lucky ones to witness a crop circle forming. Some of those lucky few have
witnessed large balls of brilliant colour project a beam of golden light into a field which next
morning displays a new crop circle.Yet despite many stakeouts and fields rigged with top
surveylance equipment, crop circles have appeared out of the mist right under the noses of those
looking for them. On one occasion, the Circlemakers even materialized in full of the British Prime
Minister's heavily-guarded country residence.

At Stonehenge in 1996 (left), a pilot reported seeing nothing while flying above the monument,
yet 45 minutes later this huge 900ft formation resembling the Julia Set computer fractal,
comprising 145 meticulously layed circles, lay beside the heavily guarded monument. It took a
team of 11- including myself- no less than five hours just to survey this formation.

Still not convinced? This web site contains a sampling of the on-going research dedicated to
enlightening the public. More will be added as time goes by. Look at the pictures, study the
research or better still, visit a genuine crop circle. You'll get the message pretty quickly.

And when you do, tell this story to a friend.Peculiarities of Crop Circles
 

There are a number of observations that have been made over the years that seem to indicate that
there are particular characteristics that "genuine" formations appear to exhibit. Some of the
observations are listed below:

  In what kind of crops do they occur?Crop circles have been reported in mostly barley and wheat.
But, they also appear in corn, oats, oilseed rape (canola), grass, ricefields, trees, sand, and even
snow.

  Where do they appear? - They have appeared on every continent and been reported in over 70
countries worldwide. A large number have appeared in the former Czech Republic and the latest
report is that over 2,000 have appeared in India alone. (see article in UFO Reality, issue 10 from
Oct/Nov 1997, article by Colin Andrews)

  Occur far from any tramlines - many formations and plain circular "grapeshots" often occur in
the middle of fields far from any tramlines without any disturbance of the surrounding crop (which
is detectable). Good example is the 1996 formation in Basingstoke, Hampshire where a circle with
a ring was put inside the middle of an organic oilseed rape field that had no tramlines at all and the
crop was 4-5 feet tall!

  Change to the grain - not only does the physical appearance of seem to change (it looks
dehydrated), but there is change at the molecular level. Research has been conducted with
samples from many seasons by the Burks-Levengood-Talbot (BLT) reasearch team. in
Massachusetts. In addition, farmers have reported greater yield in the years following the
appearance of formations in their fields. This summer (1997), Tim Carson who farms East Field
(where the "DNA" formation appeared in 1996) reported to researchers that his yield was up
30-40%.

  Swirl in multiple directions - many formations have complex woven patterns of the swirled
crops. Not only do the plants in the formation swirl clockwise or counter-clockwise, but
sometimes certain sections will swirl one direction and layers on top are going another direction.
They sometimes even have multiple layers swirled in different directions.

  Woven stalks - Other times the stalks are actually woven like a piece of loose cloth on the floor
of the formation. This has been observed by various researchers in the UK.

  Selective swirling - Even though the edges are clearly defined, sometimes stalks from the outside
edge are pulled into the formation. This doesn't seem to be too unusual, but actually certain stalks
from the middle of a grouping of plants gets pulled in. The ones closest to the formation do not.
And this occurs around the entire edge of the crop circle. Very meticulous!

  Equipment malfunctions - There have been numerous reports of electronic equipment faiing in
crop circles and magnets going haywire. This would include watches, mobile phones... fortunately
no pacemakers yet! No explanations for this ocurance yet.

  Emit sound at 5KHz frequency - Researchers have measured a distinct emission of energy at
5KHz eminating from fresh (few days after formed) crop circles. This corresponds to reports of
eye-witnesses who often claim to hear a "trilling" sound coming from the direction of the
formations-in-the-make.

  Formations "transform" into new patterns - There have been instances where certain formations
take on an entirely different appearance as they continue to grow in the field. For example, one
formation got a wavy look within the center of the circle that wasn't there originally.

  Anomalous measurements - By doing a fluxgate magnetometer survey of several formations,
Colin Andrews determined that the very center of these circles measured 40-50 nano Teslas. This
is 10 times the radiation level of a normal field.

  Group of plants bend at same node - It's a widely publicized fact that plants within a formation
actually bend at the naturally occuring nodes 90 degrees. This can also happen in hoaxed
formations where the plant is pressed to the ground and "bends" to reach towards the light. This is
more pronounced in younger stalks. But what isn't well-known is that there is more than one
possible place for bent nodes. Some formations have had various sections which could be grouped
together according to which particular node on the stalk node they bend. Some bend at the
knuckle closest to the ground, yet in a neighboring section they all bend two knuckles up and so
on...

  People and darkness - one point against the hoax theories is that many formations are created
near major thoroughfares and nightwatches (especially in the summer in Wiltshire!). In all of the
thousands of formaions produced in England and the rest of the world, noone has been "caught"
to the knowledge of researchers, even though there have been many attempts (by farmers
and researchers) to catch hoaxers in the act. They are also produced at night without the aid of
any lighting... you can decide.

  Formations occur inside restricted areas - numerous accounts of crop circles appearing inside
military installations that are fenced off (quite securely!) from the surrounding area. Most noteably
in Wiltshire along the Salisbury Plain. Are Doug and Dave in the Army?

  Chalk & water underneath - One common denominator of the crop formations is that they occur
over underground water supplies and land situated above chalk beds. Water conducts the
electromagnetic currents of the Earth well and this observation may have something to do with
how they are formed.

  Aligned with natural features of the land - This isn't apparent from the ground, but aerial
photographs have shown that often formations are imprinted on the earth in alignment with tram
lines or even darkened sections on the earth. This is an impossiblity without been able to see "the
big picture" before permanently laying out the design.

  Sacred geometry - Researchers have discovered layers within layers of information contained in
the crop circles themselves. There are sacred ratios, such as phi, that governs the growth process
of all organic life. This is an area that requires more attention and resources, as perhaps this
understanding could reveal a message or at least "higher intelligence" behind these artistic
patterns.

  Physical side effects - Many people mention having some sort of physical reaction (positive or
negative) during and after a visit to a crop formation. Side effects range from nausea, headaches,
dizziness, tingling sensations, pains amd giddiness... to getting literally knocked off their feet!
Sometimes the effects are felt only after leaving the formation, such as sickness or disruption to
the mentrual cycle, which could be affected by the surge of energies absorbed from within the
formation.
 

                    From the San Francisco Chronicle Sept. 10, 1991:

                    2 Britons Say They Conned the World.
                    They claim full credit for mysterious circles in fields

                     by William E. Schmidt

                     New York Times, London

                     The mystery of those giant circles and odd geometric shapes that
                     have been showing up in recent summers in wheat fields across southern
                     England has been explained--up to a point.

                     Newspapers in London yesterday published the claims of two local
                     men-- both painters--who said they have been skulking around the
                     countryside under cover of darkness, trampling out patterns with
                    wooden boards as a big joke for the past 13 years.

                     To prove their point, the men, aided by a London tabloid, fooled a
                     self-styled expert on the crop circle phenomena, who declared a pattern
                     found during the weekend in a Kent wheatfield to be the genuine article, of
                     the sort no human could have made.

                     Then, while the expert looked on in embarrassment, the two
                     men--described by the newspaper as "jovial con men in their
                     60s"--gleefully revealed themselves as the artists.

                     "They called us 'superior intelligence' said David Chorley, who carried
                     out the scheme with his friend Doug Bower. Chorley was referring to
                     speculation in recent years that the circles were of such a scale and
                     geometric precision that they must have been the work of alien
                     spacecraft.

                     At first, David Delgado, the author and expert, confessed that he and
                     a lot of others had obviously been duped by a hoax that had gone on
                     for several years. But later he changed his tune, arguing that the men's claims
                     appear suspect and fall well short of a complete explanation of the
                     phenomena, including the appearance of similar circles in other countries,
                     including the United States.

                     "Yesterday there were circles discovered on a prairie in Canada,"
                     Delgado said. "Have these guys been out there with their board?"

                     Other crop-circle enthusiasts said they want to question the two
                     men closely.

                     "I find their claim to be incredible, to be quite frank," said John
                     Michell, editor of the Cereologist, a journal devoted to the study of
                     crop circles. "We've always known some of the circles were hoaxes,
                     but I find it hard to believe two men could have created hundreds of these
                     circles, which often appear on the same nights in widely different parts of the
                     country."

                     In recent years, a cottage industry has grown up around the mysterious
                     circles, including books, magazines and clubs devoted to the study of
                     the phenomena.

                     This summer, travel agents offered package tours that brought
                     tourists from the United States and other countries to southern England to
                     visit the circles, and farmers who discovered the circles in their fields were
                     charging a pound a head to visit them up close.

                     Scientists from Britain and Japan have monitored the sites with
                     scientific equipment, suspecting that the circles might be the result
                     of unusual and very sudden whirlwinds. Small armies of mystics, flying
                     saucer fanatics and believers in the occult have made pilgrimages, trying to
                     sense hidden energy fields.

                     According to Today, which broke the story with the headline "Men
                     Who Conned the World," Chorley and Bower followed tractor rows into the
                     center of the fields and from there traced the patterns, trampling down the
                     wheat using "two wooden boards, a piece of string and a bizarre sighting device
                     attached to a baseball cap."

                     Chorley told reporters that he and Bower were just two bored guys
                     who dreamed up the circles one night in a pub.

                     Late yesterday, the two men demonstrated their craft before
                     reporters gathered in a field in Hampshire, in southern England. But Colin
                     Andrews, who is an associate of Delgado, was not convinced by their work.

                     "There is nothing here to impress us at all, except two very fit
                     60-year-olds," he scoffed.

                     Delgado and his supporters say they will meet Bower and Chorley at a
                     "secret destination" today for "some very heavy questioning."

                     The sourest note yesterday came from Kent farmer Peter Renwick,
                     who had made his field available to Bower and Chorley for their presentation to
                     the press.

                     "I said they could do a small demonstration and the next thing I
                     know, 16 million people turn up," Renwick told the Associated Press. "All I want
                     to do is to get my harvest in."
 

These  links  are to sites containing a number of crop circle images and various theories about circle formation