Mystery after huge totem pole 'appears from nowhere overnight' baffling locals

08 August 2023 , 00:26

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It appeared on a clifftop walk in Capel-Le-Ferne, near Folkestone (Image: Dirk Seyfried / Parsons Media)

A mysterious installation has appeared overnight along the cliff-top path leaving locals and experts baffled.

The work was spotted on the North Downs Way (between Dover and Folkestone). It is an 8ft totem carved from a single tree and inscribed with the name Perkūnas, a Baltic God, reports Kent Live.

Dover District Council has asked Kent Wildlife Trust to seek retroactive planning permission if it wishes to keep ‘Perkūnas the Pole’. But they don't know who created it. The Trust is now appealing to find the original artist to answer some questions about the totem pole, which now proudly towers at the nature reserve in Capel-Le-Ferne.

Area Manager Ian Rickards said: “The artist behind this would have spent hours painstakingly carving out the details and we are keen to keep it on our reserve. The artwork seems to be a hit with the walkers who have taken selfies and congratulated us on the installation, but we had no idea how it came to be there – it’s a ‘Totem’ mystery!

Locals don't know where it came from (Dirk Seyfried / Parsons Media)

“The local council has given us eight weeks to submit planning permission and it would be great to track down the person behind ‘Perkūnas to get a bit more detail so we can keep it. The planning application will incur a cost to the Trust, so if anyone would like to make a donation to help fund the process, it would be gratefully received.”

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Just a few miles from the totem, recently-released red billed choughs now fly in the skies. The birds are now flying about the White Cliffs of Dover as part of a reintroduction project for the species, which is a joint venture between Kent Wildlife Trust and Wildwood Trust and is supported by Paradise Park Cornwall.

Mythology states that Perkūnas is the god of sky, thunder, and lightning and so the conservationists have viewed the installation as a good omen of clement weather while the birds adjust to being out in the open.

James Bonthron