We have two archaeological day schools planned for 2025 on 17th May and 1st November. The November event will be about Maiden Castle. It is 40 years since the last excavation and the day will examine what came out of that and also look at more recent work carried out by Bournemouth University. The May event is now open for booking. It is A New Window on the Past – Dorset Archaeology 2025. Speakers include:
Michael Gill, Avon Valley Archaeological Society‘Long time no see?’ Peering underground to reveal the long barrows of East Dorset.
Sean Doherty, Exeter University From Egypt to Dorset: The domestication and dispersal of the cat
Hannah Britton, Exeter University Falconry birds at Dorchester: The importance of revisiting old collections
Andrea Frankham-Hughes, Bournemouth University (MRes student) ‘Life and death on the edge’: investigating the people of the Isle of Portland at the end of the Iron Age through the first modern assessment of the burial record’
Peter Bellamy, Terrain Archaeology ‘Scrapings and scratchings’: secular graffiti at Manor Farm Barn, Winterborne Clenston
Eva Heimpel of Cotswold Archaeology Survey work on 20th-century military features and barrows at Came.
Plus several other speakers.
A New Window on the Past preliminary programme and booking form 2025
The 2024 event was “Archaeology in Dorset: Recent Work” and was held on Saturday1st June 2024. Subjects included updates on surprising discoveries at the Durotriges Project, from Paul Cheetham and the Waddon Hill Archaeological Research Project, from Jon Milward. Mike Allen, reported on dating evidence from the Cerne Giant. He has written an article on the Cerne Giant which may be found on our Research Notes page. Peter Bellamy spoke on the Roman Street pattern of Dorchester, Hayley Roberts on Revisiting the stone circles of Dorset and Richard McConnell on work at North Quay, Weymouth. Evidence of land use in Poole Harbour and the Purbecks were given in separate talks by Sarah Elliott and Harry Manley. Peter Lancaster and Andrew Whittle told of the Nettlecombe Project in West Dorset, which is uncovering a lot of previously unknown activity in the area.
In 2018 the Association held its first day school “Aspects of Late Iron Age and Roman Dorchester” which proved successful and led to a call for more such events. In 2019 we held another day school, “Prehistoric Dorchester”. This was in collaboration with the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society in memory of Peter Woodward, Archaeologist and former Assistant Curator at the Dorset County Museum. The event was a great success. The last day school, to celebrate our fortieth anniversary, was held on the 24th September 2022. The subject was Mediaeval Dorset and a good range of speakers made for an informative and interesting day.
