The timbers of Seahenge shortly after it was discovered in 1998
Ten years ago one of the most exciting archaeological discoveries of recent times was made on the north Norfolk coast.
Within hours of being discovered on Holme next the Sea, near Hunstanton, the 4,000 year old upturned oak stump and 55 timbers were declared to be of international importance.
On Tuesday 1 April, the ancient monument went on public show for the first time. Visitors to Lynn Museum in Kings Lynn can see around half of the preserved Seahenge timbers in a display that replicates how they were found on the beach.
The semi-circular cased arrangement displays the timbers from both sides and shows the 4,000-year-old marks left by around fifty bronze axes.
This display is mirrored by a full-size replica showing how the structure would have appeared at the time of its construction.
Fearing the timbers would rapidly deteriorate as they became exposed to the elements, an excavation project was launched. The Norfolk Archaeology Unit began the initial fieldwork on the site in late 1998.
Dendrochronological analysis (tree ring dating) revealed the trees used for the circle and the inverted oak were all cut down during the spring or early summer of 2049 BC, around the time Stonehenge was formed.
Since being excavated in 1999, the timbers of Seahenge have been well travelled. They initially went to the Bronze Age Centre at Peterborough to be studied. Beach mud and some of the marine salts were removed, marking the start of a preservation process that would last ten years.
Seahenge then made its way to Portsmouth where maritime archaeology experts at the Mary Rose Trust immersed the timbers in a synthetic wax, polyethylene glycol (PEG), which gradually reinforced the cell structure. The timbers were then vacuum freeze-dried to remove the last residues of moisture.
The central stump is still undergoing conservation, as its relative size means the processes take more time. It will be added to the display in Lynn Museum once the conservation work has been completed.
