By David Sapsted. Daily Telegraph, Thursday 11 January 2001
A SECOND, larger "Seahenge" has been found off the Norfolk coast, posing a dilemma for archaeologists about what to do with it.
The first Seahenge, a 4,000-year-old circle of posts surrounding an oak "altar", was recovered from the sea at Holme-next-the-Sea by English Heritage 18 months ago despite protests from people who wanted it to remain undisturbed.
Currently undergoing preservation treatment, the Bronze Age circle may have to be reburied where it was found because nobody can offer it a permanent home. The latest circle was found less than 200 yards from the first, the decaying wood having been exposed at low tides after storms washed away seabed sand.
About twice the size of the original though of different construction, the find excited archaeologists who believe the proximity of the sites could mean the area was an important Bronze Age site. Brian Ayers, Norfolk County Council archaeologist, believes the latest circle might have been a barrow burial mound, similar to thousands of others in Britain.
"We have recorded the position of the timbers which are almost certainly ancient but there is no plan to excavate them. Very little of the structure is visible and most remains under the sand. It seems quite clear that the sea at Holme is uncovering a significant Bronze Age landscape. The beach next door has an entire petrified forest and the Blackwater estuary, around the corner in Essex, has many hundreds of Bronze Age posts."