Posted by Michael Glickman on May 5, 2012

Fig.1 - Milk Hill phase 1, 6th July 2011

I was wrong. The beautiful Milk Hill formation of 6th July (just one mile north of the Lobsters and just one day after the lobsters second hit) was deliciously expectant from the moment it arrived. [Fig.1] It was not just me. Many people sensed that a transformation or addition was imminent.

But I felt sure that there was something brewing at Milk Hill. I sensed too many clues, too many loose ends. The large central disc with the small circle in the middle seemed powerfully to suggest a lid. The small circle seemed like the finger hole in the lid to help lift it off and open it up.

To reveal what? The three points could have been laundry items peeping out from under a lid. But the clues they gave us were clear. It was obvious that the three “ears” were made of the ends of arcs that connected to form a surprise pattern. Those arcs were the same diameter as the outer ring of the formation.

Fig.2 - The Triquetra

But realistically Phase 1 had already shown us that the continuity of the metaphorical string was broken at each of the three corners. Figure [Fig.3] shows an attempt to make as complete a triquetra as possible. The centre bears a strange resemblance to the Barbury Castle three moons formation [Fig.4] of 23rd July 1999. Barbury Castle shows how simply and convincingly the crop circles can depict overlay and underlay.

Fig.3 - The imagined Triquetra under the lid

Fig.4 - Barbury Castle 3 Moons, 23rd July 1999

When Phase 2 arrived and the lid was lifted, something entirely unpredictable and unforeseen was revealed [Fig.5]. The central area is an unusual pattern made of three swirling Vs [Fig.6]. The inner wings of each V are as shown in diagram [3] while each of the outer wings is a part of a newly created inner ring, exactly the size of the removed “lid”.

Fig.5 - Milk Hill phase 2

Fig.6 - Milk Hill phase 2 centre

THE STANTON ST BERNARD CELTIC WEAVE
The Milk Hill formation very nearly shared its birthday with the Honey Street crop circle. The two were linked by the fact that they were both two-phase formations but also by geography; they were just over a mile apart.

Fig.7 - Stanton St Bernard, 14th August 1999

The central complex element [Fig.8] is flanked, on the one side, by a large two and a quarter turn spiral and, on the other side, a flattened circle with a short spiral tail. It is the central woven element that is of most interest.

The ground shot [Fig.9] is evidence that the complex interwoven design was even less comprehensible in the field. At the time I was particularly interested in two aspects of the phenomenon: the pathway/twisted ribbon/rope themes that were starting to develop and the closely related topic, the maze and labyrinth pattern. The Stanton St Bernard formation related powerfully to both of these subjects.

Fig.8 - Stanton St Bernard central weave

Fig.9 - Stanton St Bernard ground shot

The maze is a convoluted system with many bogus corners and dead ends. It stimulates the left, reasoning side of the brain. The labyrinth is single-pathed or unicursal. It leads simply from beginning to end with no false turnings. It exercises the right, meditative hemisphere.

Fig.10 - Stanton St Bernard idealised diagram

I discovered that there were in fact three separate path systems, shown in colour in Diagram [Fig.11]. The first, in blue, is a loop without beginning or end. It is difficult not to interpret this as a phallic symbol. The green has two ends at the base and forms a simple column with a strange gothic point on top. The pink is the most complex showing a true weave pattern of warp and weft. These crossing points read as a kind of bridge in which the underpass and the flyover are simply but clearly graphically displayed. In the Stanton St Bernard formation, which is more a Celtic Weave than a Celtic Knot, there are 29 of these bridges or crossing points.

Fig.11 - Stanton St Bernard coloured diagram

Fig.12 - Bishops Cannings, 6th August 1999

Fig.13 - Bishops Cannings

Bishops Cannings landed just over a week before and about five miles west of Stanton St Bernard. The woven ground lay of the Bishops Cannings crop circle has never been equalled. Stanton St Bernard’s graphic depiction of a weave pattern remains unsurpassed. Stanton’s weave embodied 29 bridges. The Bishops Cannings formation contained 29 circles.

Acknowledgements and thanks
Photography: Steve Alexander, Ulrich Kox, Olivier Morel, Andreas Muller, Patricia Murray
Diagrams and graphics: Michael Glickman, Ofmil Haynes Jr