Conservation work on the Seahenge wooden circle is continuing apace – but it will be at least a year before the Bronze Age monument will be on display in Lynn (Norfolk, England). The 4,000-year-old structure was uncovered by waves on the beach at Holme in 1998, sparking frenzied interest from the archaeological community. In 1999 the pieces were excavated and preserved before they were handed to the Mary Rose Trust in Portsmouth for conservation, with the ultimate aim of putting them on display in Lynn.
     The pieces chosen to go on display in Lynn Museum are currently being removed from a waxy substance called peg, which holds the wood fibres together. Over the next two or three months they will be freeze-dried to remove any remaining water, before they are cleaned by experts and transported to Lynn Museum.
     Robin Hanley, area museums manager for West Norfolk, said staff will spend the following six months painstakingly creating mounts and supports for the individual pieces. Work on creating the Seahenge display will not begin until work on The Story of West Norfolk display is complete. Half the museum will be closed after Christmas, and work carried out on the historical journey from the Iron Age to present day.  It is expected to be complete by September. When the display is up and running the other half of the museum will close, allowing work to begin on the Seahenge display. Mr Hanley said: "We hope to be able to allow people to see work on the Seahenge display going on for themselves."
     The display will also include audio tours of the gallery and animations illustrating the process of landscape change, which have been funded by a £65,000 of Government money.
He said: "We hope it will be open to the public by the start of January 2008, but we have to be flexible with the timing."

Source: King's Lynn Today (13 December 2006)