Mysterious totem pole appears in middle of British countryside with no explanation

An 8ft totem pole has cropped up in the middle of a Kent clifftop, and now a wildlife charity has urged the artist to come forward.

The mystery sculpture was spotted at a nature reserve in Capel-Le-Ferne, on the North Downs Way between Dover and Folkestone. It's carved from a single tree with the name Perkūnas, a Baltic God, etched into it.

Perkūnas was the god of thunder and the second most important deity in the Baltic pantheon. In Lithuanian and Latvian mythology, Perkūnas was also the god of lightning, storms, rain, fire, war, law, order, fertility, mountains, and oak trees.

Dover District Council has asked Kent Wildlife Trust to seek planning permission to keep the randomly placed pole and is keen on finding the creator to gain more insight.

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Kent Wildlife Trust

"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," Ian Rickards, area manager from the Kent Wildlife Trust, said in a statement.

"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," he added.

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