Ten years after he first set eyes on it, one of Britain’s foremost archaeologists was visibly moved when he saw Seahenge in its new home yesterday.
Bronze Age expert, author and Time Team presenter Dr Francis Pryor toured the display of preserved timbers from the 4000-year-old monument as King’s Lynn Museum officially opened after its £1.2m facelift.
Seahenge is the centrepiece of the revamped museum, housed in a 150-year-old gothic Union Baptist chapel off Blackfriars Street.
“Seahenge is an extraordinary sight, I can remember when I first saw it,” he said. “Maisie took me across this muddy beach and when we got there all the hair stood up on the back of my neck. It was a transcendental moment, it was very moving.
“It was a most remarkable site, it might not be large but it belongs to the tradition of henges and it has taught us more about those enigmatic monuments than Stonehenge itself. We have learned more about the Bronze Age from it than any other site in Britain.”
Dr Pryor and his partner Maisie Taylor – an expert in excavating and interpreting ancient timber – led the team which studied and preserved Seahenge’s oak posts and central upturned tree stump, after they were found on the beach at Holme, near Hunstanton, early in 1988.
Carbon dating showed the monument was built in the spring of 2049 BC, while examination of the axe marks in its timbers showed more than 50 different axes were used in its construction.
That in turned showed ancient society in Norfolk was more advanced than had previously been believed, though the reason people gathered in such numbers on the salt marsh 4000 years ago to build it is still a mystery.
One theory has it the circle was used in burial rites, so a body placed on its upturned stump could journey from this world to the next. Alignment of its entrance also suggests it could have been a primitive calendar marking the winter solstice.
While controversy surrounded the decision to remove it from the beach where a unique set of conditions had preserved it, Dr Pryor said it now rested in suitable surroundings.
“It’s absolutely fantastic,” he said. “One of the reasons I think it works is the building, with its great roof of wood. This is all about wood, it’s all about the after life.”
Much of the museum’s revamp was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, whose chair Dame Liz Forgan was also present at yesterday’s opening.
“To see the building transformed like this is most heartening,” she said. “I’m terribly proud we could help you with a bit of money, you have spent it so wonderfully.”
Dame Liz had earlier toured other parts of Lynn which lottery money has helped to regenerate.
“We went to look at the Walks and the Red Mount Chapel, it’s gorgeous,” she said. “I’m sorry to bubble on like this but King’s Lynn is just so full of surprises.”
Source: EDP24
