Unraveling the mystery of Seahenge: Wooden structures were built off the Norwich coast 4,000 years ago in a bid to bring back warmer weather during an extremely cold spell, research claims

When it comes to the mysteries of Britain’s Neolithic past, Stonehenge is probably the structure most people recognise.

But archaeologists are now beginning to unravel the secrets of an even stranger structure, built off the coast of Norwich 4,000 years ago.

Researchers believe ‘Seahenge’ and a second nearby monument were built by the British during a period of extreme cold, in an attempt to bring back warm weather.

Dr. David Nance, an archaeologist at the University of Aberdeen, claims that Seahenge was built as a cage to extend the summer by allowing a young cuckoo to sing.

Dr. Nance says, “Both monuments are best explained as having different functions and associated rituals, but with a common purpose: to put an end to the extremely cold weather.”

Scientists believe Seahenge (pictured) may have been built as part of a ritual attempt to bring back warmer weather and extend summer.

The wooden circle known as Seahenge consists of 55 split oak trunks arranged in a 7.5 metre wide oval, surrounding a ‘horseshoe’ of five larger oak poles centred on an upturned oak stump

Seahenge, or Holme I as it is scientifically known, was first discovered by archaeologists in 1998 near the village of Holme-next-the-sea in Norfolk.

The structure consists of 55 split oak logs arranged in an oval 7.5 meter section, surrounding a ‘horseshoe’ of five larger oak posts, centered around an inverted oak stump.

Researchers also found a second wooden circle, called Holme II, built next to it. This makes these the only known British monuments to have been built together with this circle.

The structures were buried beneath the salt marsh near the beach for thousands of years before eventually being exposed by erosion.

Despite what the final location might suggest, ‘Seahenge’ is actually a misnomer, as the circles were not located near water.

Seahenge was originally built on an area protected from the sea by sand dunes and mudflats.

Archaeologists suspect the structure mimics the mythological ‘confinement of the cuckoo’, where a young cuckoo (pictured) is locked up to make it sing and prevent summer from ending.

Both circles were discovered at Holme-next-to-Sea, near Old Hunstanton in Norwich, Norfolk (pictured). Holme is the only place in the UK where prehistoric timber has been found and it is thought that the tree used to make the two circles was felled at the same time

Over thousands of years the swamp turned into a thick layer of peat, leaving the forested poles in remarkably good condition.

Yet, like Stonehenge, little is known about why this structure was built or what role it played in people’s lives.

Because almost nothing remains of the people who built Seahenge, it is extremely difficult for archaeologists to find concrete evidence about its use.

To try to bridge that four-thousand-year gap, Dr. Nance combined the archaeology of the site with astronomical predictions, environmental data and local folklore.

Previous studies have suggested that the structures were built to commemorate the deaths of individuals or to perform celestial burials where the dead would be placed in the circle to be consumed by scavenging birds.

The structure was controversially removed after excavation in 1999 and transferred to the nearby Lynn Museum

Archaeologists say the ring was built during a period of extreme cold and was designed to mimic the ‘shelters of the underworld’ where the cuckoo, associated with summer, would flee to in winter.

However, Dr. Nance’s research suggests that these structures may have been built in an attempt to extend the summer.

He explains: ‘We know that the period in which they emerged 4,000 years ago was a prolonged period of lower atmospheric temperatures and harsh winters and late springs. This put pressure on these early coastal communities.

“It seems very likely that these monuments had the common intention of putting an end to this existential threat, but they had different functions.”

Dr. Nance points to the structure of Seahenge as evidence that it may have been used as part of a ritual related to the ‘myth of the trapped cuckoo’.

Traditional folklore from the region tells how an unborn cuckoo was placed in a thorn bush and ‘bricked in’ to extend the summer.

The construction of Seahenge is aligned with the sun at the summer solstice, suggesting it may have had a ritual purpose

Holme II (illustrated) is even larger than Seahenge and is said to have taken place in 2049 BC at sunrise on Samhain, the pagan festival from which we get Halloween.

“The summer solstice, according to folklore, was the date when the cuckoo, a symbol of fertility, traditionally stopped singing, returned to the Otherworld, and summer disappeared,” Dr. Nance explains.

‘The dating of the Seahenge beams showed that they were cut in the spring. It was considered most likely that these beams fell at the time of sunrise on the summer solstice.’

In his article, published in GeojournalDr. Nance suggests that the shape of Seahenge was designed to mimic the ritual confinement of the cuckoo.

Holme II, probably built in the autumn of the same year, may have attempted to achieve the same goal using a different technique.

The second circle is twice the size of Seahenge, with a diameter of 13.2 metres, and consists of an outer ring of oak posts surrounding two large, coffin-like beams.

Holme II may have been the resting place for ‘sacred kings’ sacrificed to the pagan goddess of Venus (pictured), who was often associated with the cuckoo, as shown on this slab, built between the first centuries BC and AD.

Although Seahenge coincides with the summer solstice, astrological predictions suggest that this circle will occur in 2049 BC. coincided with the sunrise on Samhain, the pagan festival from which Halloween is derived.

This date is particularly important because Venus would have been visible in the sky this year.

Dr. Nance says this could be a connection with the legend of the ‘Holy King’ recorded in Iron Age Ireland and Northern Britain.

These were members of the community who were sacrificed in an attempt to appease the goddess of Venus.

He adds: ‘There is evidence that they were ritually sacrificed every eight years at Samhain (now Halloween), coinciding with the eight-year cycle of Venus.’

If true, the coffin-shaped beams could have been used to contain the bodies of the sacrificed, in an attempt to put an end to the short summers and long winters.