The big question behind the discovery of Seahenge
is: Who built it? With the help of Norfolk Archaeological
Unit's JAYNE BOWN, we try to see through the mists
of prehistory.
 Who
built this structure? Radio carbon dating tests
carried out by Queen's University, Belfast, have confirmed
the circle is 4000 years old. It was therefore built
by Bronze Age people, probably between 1800BC and 2200BC.
Further tests being conducted now will narrow down that
date.
How did they build it and how
did they turn the oak tree upside down? The current
dig will establish if the posts were driven into the
ground like stakes or put into holes that had already
been dug. They are about one metre deep in the sand
and the central treestump is a little deeper. We will
not be able to theorise how it was put there until after
the dig.
The depth of the "foundations" – based on calculations
still used by builders and engineers today – indicate
the structure could have been between two and four metres
tall. Alternatively, the 55 finger posts could have
been so deeply embedded because they were supporting
a wall of earth around the structure. Archaeologist
Mark Brennan says there is a "rope" of interwoven honeysuckle
around the base of the central treestump which may have
been used to manoeuvre it into place.
Was this circle built in the
sea? No. When the circle was built the spot was
in a marshy landscape, perhaps a mile or more from the
coast. There would have been freshwater streams nearby
and the vegetation would have included willow and ash
trees. Erosion has moved the coastline back beyond the
circle. Even today, erosion continues to eat away at
this stretch of beach and would ultimately destroy the
circle itself, say scientists.
What is the central tree trunk?
Too early to say. The central stump may have
been used as an "altar" for the dead - their bodies
would be laid on the surface in an encarnation ceremony.
This was a widespread belief in shamanistic religions
- still practiced in some Far Eastern cultures - that
the quicker a body decayed the faster the soul would
reach the afterlife. Upside-down objects are also very
important in some myths and ancient religions. Dendrochronology,
or tree-ring dating, shows the treestump was chopped
down in the same summer as one of the finger posts.
Clues from tree-ring dating could be the best bet for
answering why Seahenge was built.
What did it look like originally?
English Heritage's chief archaeologist David
Miles has said the structure was perhaps up to 10 feet
high, with closely-knit timbers forming a wall. The
bark of each oak timber was on the outside of the circle,
the cut wood on the inside. This would have made the
structure look like a huge tree, with the treestump
"altar" in the centre. Mr Miles said trees were important
parts of religious life in the Bronze Age and such a
structure would fit in with shamanistic religions and
beliefs of the time. Human sacrifices may have played
a role in its construction or ceremony. Norfolk Archaeological
Unit's Mark Brennan said the timber palisade may alternatively
have supported a pile of earth around the monument.
Why is it so well preserved?
The key reason is that it has been waterlogged – those
conditions inhibit the development of the bacteria that
cause wood to rot. It has also been protected by layers
of peat, clay and sand which formed around it.
Is it some sort of calendar or
is it aligned to the sun like Stonehenge? It's
too early to say. More research has to be done.
How can it be saved for future
generations? The circle is being removed to Flag
Fen Bronze Age site near Peterborough, one of the country's
foremost centres in prehistoric timber preservation.
Experts will use techniques similar to those used on
Henry VIII's warship the Mary Rose to stabilise the
wood, which would crumble or literally explode if it
was allowed to dry out because its structure has been
underwater for so long.
What can the circle teach us?
The timbers are so well preserved you can examine marks
made by Bronze Age tools. It is the first time that
well-preserved tool marks from a complete site of this
period will have been studied in Britain. From them
we can learn about the type of tools that were used
and deduce much about woodworking techniques of the
time. It will transform our knowledge of the social,
ceremonial and religious life of the period.
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