Seahenge

Bronze Age timber circle found at Holme next the Sea beach and popularly known as 'Seahenge'. The fragmentary remains come from a timber circle 6.6 metres in diameter, comprising 55 closely fitting oak posts, each originally up to 3 metres high. At the centre of the circle was a great upturned tree stump. Scientific dating methods show that the circle was erected in the spring of 2049 BC. The timber circle is a very rare and significant object. Wood rarely survives from the Bronze Age period and this circle was preserved by peat and uncovered by the action of the incoming sea. Its function is not known but as the circle was fully enclosed, it may have been a site of ritual and funeral rites, possibly with a body placed on the upturned centre tree stump.