It's almost 10 years since this upturned oak stump and circle of timbers was spotted emerging from the sands of Holme Beach, on the coast of Norfolk, UK. The discovery, soon named Seahenge, was estimated to be 4000 years old.
Archaeologists feared the timbers would start rotting as they became exposed, and an excavation project was set in place. The idea that the monument would be displaced caused a lot of upset in the Druid community, making for a very memorable episode of Time Team, as crying protesters confronted tweedy conservationist types.
The conservationists succeeded in removing the henge, but it seemed over the years as if very little had been achieved by their victory: Seahenge disappeared as a news story, and nothing seemed to have come of the conservation project, with rumours spreading that the excavated timbers had been left to rot in a shed in Norfolk.
Seahenge is now making a long overdue comeback: the timbers have been preserved by the Mary Rose Trust, in Portsmouth, and £1m lottery money has been secured for a project to house them at The Lynn Museum. They should be ready for display early in 2008.
Link: Eastern Daily Press on Seahenge, with video
Link: a Druid remembers Seahenge
I couldn't understand some parts of this article, but it sounds interesting
I couldn't understand some parts of this article, but it sounds interesting
