Wendy George's photo of Seahenge which was discovered on Holme Beach.

Wendy George’s photograph of the Bronze Age timbers on the beach at Holme, near Hunstanton, appeared on book covers and across the national media.

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Mrs George, who died this week aged 63, captured the eerie afternoon light across the 4,000-year-old timbers revealed by the shifting sands in 1998.

“She used a normal compact camera, nothing special, to take the pictures. I was with her at the time and when the photos came back people said they wanted a copy,” said her daughter Alexandra.

“She had a real eye for it and it wasn’t really a fluke - mum was an artist,” she added.

On the original image, which was taken on film, clearly shows the shadows of both mother and daughter on the sand.

When the prints came back, Mrs George realised she had captured something very special and was delighted with the result. She had copies of the photo enlarged and made into postcards and the image was universally admired.

Her daughter was studying A-level archaeology at the time and they had been at the beach together to have a closer look at the timbers as they emerged.

“Mum was really interested and she pursued it and got quite involved,” said Miss George.

When news of the timber circle spread and national media became interested, Mrs George’s picture was often used - including on the cover of books.

“It was a lovely photo,” said Miss George, 29, who now lives in Scotland where she is an artist and furniture restorer.

Mrs George, of Snettisham, was involved in the West Norfolk art world and she ran workshops at King’s lynn Arts Centre and Narborough Hall.

“We first met when she did her degree course a few years ago, she was a mature student. Wendy was a very thoughtful, serene person and there will be a huge gap in the arts world, it’s very sad,” said Liz Falconbridge, chief executive at the arts centre.

One of Mrs George’s sculptures was part of a trail to celebrate the Tour of Britain cycle race which came through West Norfolk last year.

“Mum really wanted to create something organic from things in the garden. We all helped and she had a lot of support from her friends - they have been brilliant,” said Miss George.

Mrs George’s funeral will be at Mintlyn Crematorium on January 31 followed by a memorial service at Thornham Parish Church.

The Seahenge site included 55 upturned split trunks forming a circle around a large inverted oak stump in the centre.

It is believed the site was used for ritualistic purposes and it would have been on a salt marsh at the time, before the area was overtaken by fresh water marsh. This allowed alder trees to grow and then form the protective layer of peat which surrounded the circle and kept it preserved until erosion revealed it again thousands of years later.

The site was the centre of controversy after it was revealed archaeologists were going to remove the timbers in 1999 and preserve them more than 50 miles away at Flag Fen, near Peterborough where investigative work would also be carried out.

Amid legal wrangles, injunctions and protests, the timbers were finally removed and immediately preserved in fresh water at Flag Fen while work was carried out to unravel the history. Parts of it are now on display at Lynn Museum in a specially-created exhibition.