Images of U.K. crop circles from 1945 and earlier are evidence that these formations are not made by hoaxers, says an Australian historian.
Greg Jefferys, a PhD student at the University of Tasmania in Hobart, found numerous old crop circles using Google Earth’s new historical imagery from 1945 to examine the English countryside.
“This discovery proves that claims by various artists to be the sole creators of crop circles are themselves a hoax,” Jefferys told The Birmingham Mail. “It just goes to show that the circles remain unexplained.”
“I hope this discovery will stimulate renewed interest in crop circles by serious scientific researchers who have been fooled by the hoax claims.”
Jefferys was inspired to begin this work after reading an article in the journal Nature from 1800 that implied crop circles have been happening since the 18th century.
He believes, like many others, that high-frequency electromagnetic radiation is responsible for the formation of these strange shapes.
“What is not clear is what generates that energy and organises it into circular patterns,” Jefferys told the paper. “This is one of the questions I hope to answer, at least partially.”
According to crop circle expert and author Freddy Silva, the patterns form when energy affects the environment.
“Crop circles are organized harmonic forms that manifest around the world, the result of an energy interacting with the physical world–in this case plants,” Silva explained in a blog post. “This energy is comprised of light, sound and magnetism.”
“To date, crop circles have been reported in 29 countries, and have appeared in mediums such as wheat, barley, canola, trees, ice, rice paddies, even linseed.”
