“Special”

Nils Kenneth Fordal, who was informed of the new crop circle near Woolaston on July 19, has studied crop circles for years.

Fordal’s been going to Wiltshire with fellow-enthusiast Dorthe Elisabeth Wennerfeldt for several weeks every year since 2006. The region has been known for its increasingly elaborate designs since the 1970s, National Geographic News reports.

He tells the BBC this particular formation “is a nice circle” and “quite special because it is the first time we have been into a formation so close to the water.”

“Fascinating”

Crop circles have been around since the 1500s but became especially famous in the 1990s, when thousands of such formations were reported every year.

The formations, usually made out of perfect geometrical shapes appear literally over night, and the mystery surrounding crop circles has enchanted many people, from scientists to UFO fanatics.

Some of the appearances can be put down to being man-made with rope and plank, but there are theories explaining that they could be the result of specific winds, of Earth energy, of aircrafts, or even aliens, according to Discovery’s magazine How Stuff Works.

"There are lots of other equally strange ideas […] People talk about earth energies, or think that earth spirits perhaps make them," UK crop circles researcher Karen Alexander told National Geographic Magazine last year.

In her opinion, they are “a fascinating cultural phenomenon,” but given that they are mainly found in the same areas, mainly in Southern England and the US, she also believes that they are profitable tourism resources.

"We get tens of thousands of people coming to the U.K. each year just to look at them," Alexander said.

Art?

But regardless of if they are man-made hoaxes, the result of energy, wind, airplanes or alien signals Nils Kenneth Fordal says he believes they are beautiful just to look at.

“We are photographing the formations and enjoying this fantastic art, because whoever makes them – it is still art.”