5000 year old oak dug up in Norfolk
(From the BBC)
Fenland Black Oak: 5000-year-old tree found in Norfolk
The trunk of a giant oak-tree, thought by experts to be more than 5000 years old, has been unearthed from a field in Norfolk.
The 44ft (13.4m) Fenland Black Oak, or bog oak, was found buried in farmland at Methwold Hythe, near Downham Market.
Planks cut from the trunk will be dried over seven months in a specialist kiln.
A spokesman said the tree will make “a breathtaking table for public display giving an insight into the grandeur of these ancient giant forests.”
Bog oak is generally found buried in farmland.
One of the rarest forms of timber in England, when dry it is said to be “comparable to some of the world’s most expensive tropical hardwoods”.
Experts have said the Norfolk bog oak is “the largest-ever intact 5,000-year-old sub-fossilised trunk of an ancient giant oak”, but believe it could be just a section – possibly as small as a quarter – of the original tree.
