Seahenge: A Theatre of Protest

In 1999 English Heritage commissioned Norfolk Archaeological Trust to survey, excavate and remove a partially submerged henge monument of wooden timbers from the sand and clay loam off the North Norfolk coast. Situated at the end of the Peddar's Way footpath between Hunstanton and Wells-Next-the-Sea, this recently discovered Bronze age site attracted the interest of Channel Four preparing to televise a Time Team Special. Following professional advice, English Heritage made a decision to relocate, preserve and study the timbers at Flag Fen, Peterborough, believing the henge to be under threat from the ebb and flow of the autumn tides. Listening to later debates in a public meeting (see below), it seemed to me that local residents of Holme-Next-the Sea viewed Seahenge as their own secret from the rest of Britain. For these local villagers, this monument invoked memories of their childhood play; a good site to bait fresh Norfolk crab at low tide, or a place to court lovers among the ancient wooden timbers. Threatened with the loss of their own past to the procedures of archaeological study, the decision by EH to remove Seahenge was soon contested by the protests of local people and other interested parties with a claim to the site. Twelve Pagan/Druids from Norfolk, Suffolk and the rest of England formed their own protest movement as they attempted to reinforce their identity with an imagined past, eventually leading to confrontations with the local Norfolk Constabulary. Subsequently, two Druid protesters found their physical movements in North Norfolk restricted as the law courts served injunctions upon them, along with a certain John Doe - otherwise known as persons unknown.

In April 1999 as the national press began to build upon local tabloid reports of the Seahenge project, members of Holme Parish Council formed the Friends of Seahenge committee, inviting representatives from EH to their meetings. Pagans from Norfolk joined in the objections of Friends of Seahenge, while the Council of British Druid Orders sent Rolo Maughfling as a representative Druid to ritually re-claim Seahenge as a Druidic monument '[built] by the people - for the people'. Hence, the plans of English Heritage were contested by an unlikely partnership between Pagan/Druids hardened to political protest, and law abiding villagers living in rural anonymity. This formidable (if not always harmonious) alliance allowed locals and Pagans to challenge not only the right of heritage bodies to interfere in local and national perceptions of cultural identity, but also the cognitive processes of these professional bodies. Indeed, the whole episode of Seahenge tells the story of a 'battle' the people of Holme and Pagan Druids were to initially 'lose' as the planned excavation proceeded, only to see at a later date, English Heritage re-think their position and consider re-burying Seahenge at its original place of construction. Here we clearly see, for the first time in an English public arena, EH (and archaeologists) losing their assumed authority over landscapes as they (reluctantly) responded to the adverse publicity created by local parishioners and Pagan/Druids using Seahenge as a theatre of social/religious protest.

My own interest in the Seahenge debate came about quite accidentally in June 1998 as I stumbled across a report in Norfolk's Eastern Daily Press newspaper documenting the archaeological discovery and importance of this site. I soon forgot the newspaper reports, only to be reminded of its importance in 1999 while attending an annual pilgrimage with Druids in the Vale of the White Horse. Here, a Traveller/Druid named Raven agreed to speak with me in concern of Seahenge.

I had first met Raven in 1998 at spring pilgrimage near Glastonbury, and during casual conversations at Uffington, Raven informed me of his associations with Rolo and Arthur Pendragon, outlining his own involvement in the Seahenge campaign. During this pilgrimage, I discovered many initiates sharing an affiliation with the political sentiments of the Loyal Arthurian War Band and (and therefore the Council of British Druid Orders). Inspired by his connection to the symbolism of Seahenge's wooden timbers and a centrally upturned oak known as the 'altar', Raven's spiritual feelings for this monument deepened further due to his own familiar relationships with the North Norfolk region.

Blackbird. I wondered why Seahenge, being a Bronze Age monument, is so important for you as a Druid.

Raven. For me as a Druid - you have [at Seahenge] an oak timbered circle, and obviously Druid's have a very strong connection with the oak... My family, my ancestors also come from that point on the Anglia landscape... As we sit around this field today, I see oak trees with their leaves coming off. In fact all the trees are not expected to live as long as they used to and are actually dying off. From the root systems, the water table, all changing, over-development, pollution - all that - and an upside down oak tree [at Seahenge] showing its roots to us at this time when the oaks of East Anglia are dying off - [It's] the symbolic nature of it today really.

Raven's affiliation with the antiquity contained within the landscape of Norfolk linked with his concern for the relationships between the living landscape and his own spirituality. Explaining how his concern over the removal of a part of the landscape effected his own spiritual self, Raven spoke of the ways in which Seahenge 'touched his heart', inferring that the landscape of Norfolk around Holme was embodied within him through the symbolism's of nature - the altar, the oak posts, and the surrounding wildlife sanctuary the monument presides over. It seemed to me that for Raven, this feeling of belonging led to spiritual insights that further demanded ritual activity bound within political protests familiar to the LAWB and COBDO.

Blackbird. In what way did this site actually touch your heart. You mentioned that you felt as if couldn't leave, and then felt Seahenge touched the heart of the nation. How exactly was this experience for you - in terms of emotion and feeling?

Here, I referred to the national media interest in the Seahenge debate and Raven's mood became more serious and emotional at I searched for insight into Raven's true feelings for Seahenge.

Raven. Well on my first visit [to Seahenge], there was just myself. When I got down to the site, there were three or four archaeologists. I asked them what their intentions were that day. They said they intended to remove (excavate the site) and I stated my objections - that I intended to stop that work. So I went into the circle, sat on the central oak and just tuned in really - I opened myself up to the energies there - and into the circle. It's quite a subtle energy, and then, a real surge of energy came through me, and I felt very strongly that I had much [spiritual] work to do.

Debating Seahenge.

As well as the public medias of the newspapers and Channel Four, the Seahenge debate was widely publicised in Druid and Pagan publications across England. October's edition of Touchstone, a newsletter available by subscription to initiates of the OBOD, documented reports of meetings held between EH, locals and Pagans. November's edition of Pagan Dawn (1999), a magazine for Pagans available form New Age shops, reported how English Heritage's chief archaeologist, David Miles participated in a 'sharing circle' with eco-warriors, Pagans and tree-lovers. The author reported how local activists opposed and disrupted the work until a court injunction was served upon them.

These Pagan publications brought the Seahenge debate to the attention of Britain's thinly spread Pagan community (most Pagans and I have met do not part-take in group activities, preferring instead to practice their beliefs as individuals). However, it was Channel Four's Time Team Special, The Mystery of Sea Henge screened on 29th December 1999, that ensured that tens of thousands of the British public were introduced to the cultural conflicts centred around Seahenge. I believe Raven's statement that Seahenge 'touched the hearts of the nation' referred to the adverse publicity the Time Team Special drew toward EH, along with media polls showing that the general public were in favour of leaving the oak timbers of Seahenge in situ. At a public meeting held at the University of East Anglia on 11th March 2000 (Debating Seahenge), I listened to eight speakers openly criticise the role of English Heritage and Norfolk Archaeological Trust in their assumption of authority over Seahenge. Throughout these proceedings, I sat alongside the political pilgrim Druids, and listened to speakers debate various issues. Anthony Hyams, a postgraduate at the UEA, stated how, in a television poll, 7000 calls were received stating that the oaks should not be removed. Shelly Walduck, a representative from Friends of Seahenge, reiterated how a poll organised by the EDP and Daily Telegraph showed that 6269 voted against removing the timbers, while only 420 preferred excavation.

Richard Morris, Chair of EH Ancient Monuments Advisory Committee nervously took his turn at the rostrum stating that 'if another [similar] situation arose, I think things would be done differently'. Acknowledging a 'culture' of non-communication, Richard Morris called for 'different ways of thinking'. After the previous eight speakers had all delivered lectures criticising EH, Norfolk Archaeological Trust, and Channel Four's Time Team Crew, it must have been a difficult time for Richard Morris as he faced and accepted the criticisms shouted at him from floor (with the noted exception of a minority present in the crowd). EH's u-turn over Seahenge was officially in print on January 2001 as the Independent newspaper ran the headline 'Seahenge will be reburied under the Norfolk Sands'... 'Norfolk County Council', reported Connor, 'is now working with English Heritage to devise a technical plan for the safe reburial of the 54 ancient timbers'.

Dr Robin Skeats (UEA), drew comparisons between the events at Seahenge and those occurring around the Summer Solstice at Stonehenge (both monuments are over four thousand years old). Speaker after speaker questioned the role of heritage groups in the public domain, agendas of public exclusion by professional bodies, and the negation of local and Pagan perceptions of place. Buster Nolan, a Norfolk based Druid, took to the rostrum theatrcally explaining the esoteric alignments of Seahenge and its importance in the wider landscape (Seahenge's relationships with local ley-lines, the Peddar's Way footpath, and monuments in Wiltshire connected by ley lines). The floor united in wild applause, whistles and cheers. I looked around, surprised to see many university lecturers and postgraduate students enthusiastically joining in this unconventional behaviour. Druids, along with the Friends of Seahenge seemed to be enjoying this, their moment of academic acceptance and public notoriety.

For myself, the only questions that remain in this Seahenge debate concern the methods available for replacing, reburying or relocating the Bronze Age timbers of Seahenge. Should English Heritage and Norfolk County Council be able to protect the monument from visiting tourists, pilgrims and locals damaging the site as they walk among the timbers at low tide? Should the monument be left to decay naturally through ritual use and sea erosion, or should the timbers be replaced and an artificial site built upon a ley line on dry land.

What other monuments and artefacts should we as Pagans and Druids demand be returned for reburial, and will our protests succeed without the support of local groups such as the Friends of Seahenge, or polls conducted in the media?

References.

Connor, Steve. 5th January 2001. 'Seahenge Will Be Reburied Under the Norfolk Sands' in The Independent newspaper: 10.

Order of Bards Ovates and Druids. October 1999. Touchstone.

Robinson, Tony. 1999. Time Team Special, Channel Four; 29th December.

'Seahenge': 1999. Pagan Dawn. No 133, Samhain: 15-16.

See also; various articles on the web sites of the Loyal Arthurian War Band and the Council of British Druid Orders, or use a word search engine such as; http://www.Google.com