Unexplained traces in a wheat field at Meaux

Summary

In June 1989, a farmer in Meaux (Seine-et-Marne) discovered an anomalous area in his wheat field: a strip roughly 25 metres long and 3 metres wide where the stalks were yellowed, flattened, and partly uprooted. At the centre lay a hole 10 cm across and 20 cm deep, along with a patch of earth aligned on the same axis. Hypotheses ranged from a lightning strike to an improvised hot-air balloon landing, though the latter was ruled out due to airspace restrictions in force for the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget. SEPRA, however, gave the balloon theory some credit.

None of the proposed explanations proved conclusive. The characteristics of the area did not fit easily with natural causes or known human activity. GEIPAN classified the case as B, without ruling out an unconventional phenomenon.