Seahenge

Timber circle, Norfolk, England.

Like the famous stone circles of Europe, there were apparently similar structures made of wood. The best known of these is "Seahenge," discovered in January 1999.

Constructed in the early Bronze Age (ca. 2000 BCE), it consisted of fifty-five oak posts surrounding an upturned oak tree. The posts were each ten feet tall, one foot wide, and together made a ring six meters across.

The ring was discovered during low tide in January of 1999, though it is claimed to have been discovered ten years earlier and judged to be a natural phenomenon. After the subsequent rediscovery, it was decided to have been man-made.

English Heritage decided that preserving the knowledge of the site was more important than preserving the site itself, which was in danger of severe deterioration. The site was thoroughly surveyed, and moved to the Flag Fen archaeological center near Peterborough. Numerous Bronze Age tools were found at the site and moved to the center.

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