Archaeology
Above : The iconic Stonehenge
Below : Trace of Roman Road on south Dorset Ridgeway. 
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For our normal speaker meetings, we meet at the Community Church Hall in Poundbury. The postcode is DT1 3DF & it is on the corner of Peverell Avenue East, & Liscombe Street.
No 6 & 10 Buses from Dorchester stop nearby on Peverell Avenue East. There is parking on the street. Please do not park in front of the entrance - the area is not a carpark (although it looks like one !). Click here for a map it will open in a new tab or window (At the moment streetmap have not completed mapping Poundbury) Meetings start at 2pm on the 4th Monday of the month. However, with other outside visits and venues, times may be arranged to suit (see the programme below). At Poundbury, tea/coffee and biscuits are available a small donation to the CCH funds To see the full Dorchester U3A Timetable click the button.
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Above : Roman Town House, Dorchester
Below : Lidar image of Frampton Roman Villa 
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Programme for 2021
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Please use the link below to the Dorchester Archaeology Website for full details.
Our thanks to Steve Wallis (County Archaeologist) for his very interesting tour of the newly revamped Roman Town House in Dorchester for our September meeting. Our second meeting of the year ! ..... on Monday 18th October 2021 : 18th October 2021 (Monday) - visit to Hengistbury Head, near Christchurch. This site has a vast range of archaeology ranging from the Old Stone Age to the late Iron Age. We plan to meet at the visitor centre at 2pm for a short introductory talk and then to view the centre's interesting museum. Weather permitting, there will be a guided walk around the archaeology trail and dykes. There is a cafe for refreshments on site together with a shop in the visitor centre. See more details on our website - link below. About a 35 mile trip from Dorchester - sat nav post code : BH6 4EN 22nd November 2021 (Monday) - our member Michael Insley will give an illustrated talk "Nero - not so bad after all ?" venue : Community Hall, Poundbury (see above for directions) December meeting - to be advised, please watch this space ! Some ideas for the future are shown to the right > OUR WEBSITE : We have our own Dorchester Archaeology Group website. This allows us to give members far more detail on our group's activities together with a facility for members to share their own research and visits. There are many linked activities, such as Lidar access and links to many archaeological sites, organisations and local resources. There are a selection of illustrated talks from past years. The website has a dedicated email address to allow members to send in material and ask questions. Please use the link below : |
The visits below are some that are planned when circumstances permit :
Salisbury Museum
Muchelney Abbey & Priest’s House (nr Langport) Underground Dorchester Chickerell - recent finds and excavations Beer Stone Quarries Ancient DNA and the archaeology of south Dorset Weald & Downland Museum |
Report of Recent Activities
This past year has been unusual for everyone to say the least ! We did, however, manage two talks at our usual venue before national restrictions came into force :
January 2020 - our member Rodney Alcock gave an illustrated talk of his experiences along the ancient Silk Route entitled “From exotica to the mundane - trade goods across the millennia” . In addition to his photographs, Rodney also had a very impressive display of related artefacts for members to view.
February 2020 - our member Richard Crumbleholme gave an illustrated talk on "The development and dating of traditional Vernacular Buildings”. Richard drew on his experience with working on old buildings and also used his own C16th cottage and houses owned by ancestors in the Forest of Bolland (Lancashire) as examples.
The rest of the year was spent waiting for the situation to improve !
January 2020 - our member Rodney Alcock gave an illustrated talk of his experiences along the ancient Silk Route entitled “From exotica to the mundane - trade goods across the millennia” . In addition to his photographs, Rodney also had a very impressive display of related artefacts for members to view.
February 2020 - our member Richard Crumbleholme gave an illustrated talk on "The development and dating of traditional Vernacular Buildings”. Richard drew on his experience with working on old buildings and also used his own C16th cottage and houses owned by ancestors in the Forest of Bolland (Lancashire) as examples.
The rest of the year was spent waiting for the situation to improve !
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New members and other ideas are always welcome
– no previous knowledge is necessary For more information on our programme please call Annie or Michael (For number see Newsletter) This page was updated by Richard Crumbleholme October 2021
Photos / Lidar images have been taken by members of the group |
Lidar image of part of the Dorchester Roman aqueduct
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