A crop circle is a sizable pattern created by the flattening of
a crop such as wheat, barley, rye, maize, or rapeseed. Crop
circles are also referred to as crop formations, because they
are not always circular in shape. The documented cases have
substantially increased from the 1970s to current times. In
1991, two hoaxers claimed authorship of many circles throughout
England. Twenty-six countries reported approximately 10,000 crop
circles in the last third of the 20th century; 90% of those were
located in southern England. Many of the formations appearing in
that area are positioned near ancient monuments, such as
Stonehenge. According to one study, nearly half of all circles
found in the UK in 2003 were located within a 15 km (9.3 miles)
radius of Avebury. Archeological remains can cause cropmarks in
the fields, in the shapes of circles and squares, but they do
not appear overnight and they are always in the same places
every year. The scientific consensus is that crop circles are
almost entirely man-made wi