THE ancient timber circle known as Seahenge could disintegrate if it is
reburied as planned, says a British archaeologist. His warning comes as
conservators, pagan religious leaders and local people debate what to do with
the prehistoric remains that survived 4000 years in the sands off Norfolk on
England鈥檚 east coast.
Seahenge, which dates from 2050 BC, recently emerged on the beach near the
village of Holme-next-the-Sea. Shifting sands had gradually revealed a large
upside-down oak stump surrounded by a ring of 55 timber posts. The site is
thought to have been a pagan place of worship, representing the ritual burial of
a tree.
In 1999, fearing the exposed timbers would rot away, the conservation group
English Heritage excavated the site and removed the remains to the Flag Fen
prehistoric centre in Peterborough. Archaeologists placed the wood in tanks of
fresh water to study it. They hoped that a museum would preserve the structure
for posterity, but so far no museum has offered it a home.
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Now local people are clamouring to have Seahenge returned. 鈥淭here is a strong
feeling that the timbers belong in Holme,鈥� says Brian Ayers, chairman of the
Holme Timber Circle Forum. English Heritage scientists suggested they could
solve the problem by reburying the monument. 鈥淲e hope that reburying will be the
safest method of ensuring its survival into the future,鈥� says Mike Corfield,
chief scientist at English Heritage.
But archaeologist Martin Jones of the University of Cambridge warns that this
could destroy the timbers. 鈥淭here is no sound scientific evidence about what
would happen. It is complete guesswork,鈥� he says. He argues that because
reburial seems a cheap and convenient answer, no one is willing to admit how
little we know about what actually happens to wooden remains when this is
done.
Jones fears that returning the timbers to a salty environment could damage
them. 鈥淚t would be like putting them into an oven, it would dry them out,鈥� he
says. Bacterial activity in the wood, as well as currents and sediments, could
also harm the timbers.
He maintains that the people of Holme have been misled by suggestions that
reburial would preserve the timbers. 鈥淭here is this impression being relayed
that we know what would happen to them,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut the idea that this is a
sound mechanism of preservation is complete bunkum.鈥�
One option is to find a more stable site for Seahenge. But pagan leader Rollo
Maughfling, Archdruid of Britain, argues that the timbers would lose their
significance if moved. Their original site stands directly in line between
Stonehenge and the rising Sun of the summer solstice, he says. 鈥淪eahenge is
where the very first ray of sunlight enters the land, before journeying on to
厂迟辞苍别丑别苍驳别.鈥�
Corfield hopes that burying the timbers deeper down will give them a better
chance of survival at the original site. But there鈥檚 no guarantee the timbers
would last even a few decades. 鈥淭hat is the best we can do,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t is a
terribly evocative thing and it belongs in a landscape. It would look rather
lost in a museum.鈥�