Crop circles are no longer an alien concept to people from Devizes.

They learned about the science and mathematics behind creating the field designs at Wiltshire Heritage Museum’s latest family day on Sunday.

More than 100 people of all ages attended the event, though the organisers were very careful to refer to “landscape art” rather than “crop circles” so as not to become embroiled in the long-running controversy about their origins.

Adults and children were able to take part in body painting, investigating ancient geometry and making their own Bush Barrow Lozenges.

The gold lozenge is among the first artefacts the museum ever acquired, being unearthed from a site near Stonehenge by local archaeologists in the 19th century.

Museum director David Dawson said: “A lot of people were attracted by the theme of crop circles but we didn’t want to get involved in the question of who makes them. That is why we talked about landscape art.”

The event was organised in conjunction with the museum’s current exhibition, Measuring the Land.

It has been put on by the museum in association with Rook Lane Arts Trust and Mendip YMCA, which is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund through its Young Roots programme.