Festival of Archaeology comes to Dorset 19 July – 13 August 2025
Dorset Museum & Art Gallery is delighted to join a large group of organisations working together to create a wide and varied programme of events and activities for the Festival of Archaeology.
This year’s Festival theme is ‘Archaeology and Wellbeing’. Archaeology is a wonderful way to make a positive impact on people’s well-being. Across Dorset, there will be many ways for people to improve their wellbeing through our programme of events and activities that will create opportunities for people to give, be active, learn, take notice and connect.
There are many ways archaeology can benefit your wellbeing from spending some time in nature at an archaeological site, a mindful moment studying an object, participating in a skills day or field school to learn something new, or spending time with other people at events or volunteering with a local group.
At Dorset Museum & Art Gallery there will be a lecture from Dr Martin Smith about Maiden Castle and a day with Bournemouth University archaeologists who have set you the challenge of re-creating a human skeleton from casts of bones.
Dorset Council officers will be running finds days at Museums in Beaminster, Wimborne, Portland, Blandford. Visit the Dorset History Centre to explore the archaeological archives. The National Trust will be running archaeology walks at their outdoor properties and hillforts as well as running archaeology related house tours at Max Gate and Hardy’s Cottage, find out more through their programme ‘Walk with us’.
A special exhibition is opening at Bridport Museum in partnership with Bournemouth University Archaeological research consultancy. The exhibition will explore how excavation methods have evolved over the past 150 years at Waddon Hill, roman fort, featuring exciting finds including a newly conserved Roman dagger and offering a unique opportunity to see how archaeology has uncovered the secrets of Roman Britain.
There will also be talks and living history events. Beaminster will be showcasing newly acquired Treasure and new acquisitions will also be on show at Shaftesbury Abbey. Join the Dorset National Landscape team for an archaeological walk along the Ridgeway, taking in the Hardy monument. Cranborne Chase National Landscape will be running a tour of the Dorset Cursus led by archaeologist Martin Green, plus a webinar with Rebecca Bennett exploring the Champions of the Past LiDAR project in the landscape.
Archaeologists from Bournemouth University will be leading a walk in Portland and supporting many organisations across Dorset with their programmes, including Wareham Museum. Also look out for events and activities at Hengistbury Head, Sturminster Newton and a programme from the Bournemouth Natural Science Society.
Dorset is one of the most archaeology rich counties in the UK. Our landscape can unlock so many stories, from iron age hillforts to Roman villas, from Viking invasions to medieval hoards. Find out more about the history of Dorset and what we can learn from our landscape and the archaeological Treasures it has revealed.
This incredible programme forms part of the Council for British Archaeology Festival, which runs from 19 July until 3 August and we will have events running throughout that period.
Programme of Events:
Saturday 19 July, 10.30am – 4.00pm
Corfe Castle – At Corfe Castle in Purbeck, the famous Time Team Geodome is to be set up in the Outer Bailey. This will celebrate all things archaeology and will host talks and activities. I will be taking a guided walk describing the National Trust’s Corfe Castle excavations including the discovery of the ‘traitors gate’ sallyport in 2024.
Saturday 19 July, 10.00am – 3.00pm
Dorchester – The Dorset Council Archaeology team ‘Archaeology Day’ with finds to see and touch, family activities such as badge making, and displays on local archaeology projects. Historic documents about the work of early archaeologists in Dorset and selected specially from the county’s archives will also be on display; these include some beautiful illustrations of artefacts.
Saturday 19 July, 10.30am – 1.00pm
Hardy Monument, Portesham – National Trust guided walk discovering the Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments of the South Dorset Ridgeway meet. Guided Walk – South Dorset Ridgeway | National Trust. Book online for places on National Trust ‘Walk with Us’.
Sunday 20 July, 10.30am – 4.00pm
Corfe Castle – Day two of Corfe Castle Time Team Geodome events within Corfe Castle
Monday 21 July: 10.30am – 4.00pm
Corfe Castle – North Barn, in the field below and to the north of Corfe Castle, visit the archaeology workshop and discover what Purbeck has to offer archaeologists. Find out about the important part Studland played in D Day during WWII and handle medieval and English Civil War finds from Corfe Castle. Use a quern stone to make flour.
Tuesday 22 July: 7:30pm – 8:30pm
Online Webinar ‘Champions of the Past – Lasers and Landscapes’ – Join Rebecca Bennett of Pushing the Sensors for this free webinar to learn about the success of the Champions of the Past project, undertaking LiDAR mapping in Cranborne Chase National Landscape, and its plans for the future.
Wednesday 23 July: 10.00am – 4.00pm
Corfe Castle – North Barn in the field below Corfe Castle. Come meet our Heritage Archaeology Ranger Team volunteer who help conserve over 700 sites on the Purbeck National Trust Estate from Bronze Age Barrows to the 11th century ring and bailey castle. Learn about what they do and have a go yourself. Archaeological walks from North Barn leave at 10.30am and 2.00pm. 1.5 miles duration 1hr 30mins, some rough ground and slopes.
Thursday 24 July, 6.00pm
Dorset Museum & Art Gallery, Dorchester – A talk by Dr Martin Smith of Bournemouth University on finds made by Sir Mortimer Wheeler in the 1930s Fraught with high tragedy: new insights on the Maiden Castle Iron Age ‘War Cemetery’ | Dr Martin Smith – Dorset Museum & Art Gallery book tickets on Dorset Museum & Art Gallery web site.
Saturday 26 July, 10.30am
Burton Bradstock – Meet at Hive Beach Cark Park Hut, Burton Bradstock. ‘Barrows to Bunkers’- a free guided walk through 4000 years of Hive Beach’s History. 60-90 minutes 1.5km some rough ground and slopes. Walk with us: guided walks in Dorset | National Trust
Saturday 26 July, 11.30am – 3.30pm
Max Gate, Dorchester – Thomas Hardy was fascinated by archaeology and it features as a theme in many of his writings. The New Hardy Players will be performing Hardy poems and novel readings in the garden free event though normal admission charges apply, no need to book. Thomas Hardy unknowingly built his house, Max Gate, on the site of a Neolithic Enclosure. When digging the foundations for his house he found human burials and a Sarsen stone, which he called a ‘Druid Stone’, and wrote a poem featuring it. Today Max Gate is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The enclosure, called ‘Flagstones’, dates back to 3200 BC and is thought to be older than Stonehenge.
Sunday 27 July, 11.30am – 3.30pm
Max Gate, Dorchester – Day two of Hardy Players performing Hardy poems and novel readings in the garden free event though normal admission charges apply, no need to book. Festival of Archaeology | National Trust
Monday 28 July, 10.30am – 4.00pm
Corfe Castle – North Barn, in the field below Corfe Castle, visit the archaeology workshop and discover what Purbeck has to offer archaeologists. Find out about the important part Studland played in D Day during WWII and handle medieval and English Civil War finds from Corfe Castle. Use a quern stone to make flour.
Tuesday 29 July, 2.00pm – 4.00pm
Museum of East Dorset – Archaeology activities for the family working with Dorset finds archaeologists Clare and Ciorstaidh. Handle artefacts, make mosaics and quiz.
Wednesday 30 July, 10.30am – 4.00pm
Portland Museum, Church Ope Cove – Come and join us for days of archaeological fun and activities in our lovely garden! Meet Archaeologists, get hands on with real artefacts, have a go at spinning and join the Sanctuary from Bournemouth University mixing natural pigments and painting with them plus other activities.
Wednesday 30 July, 2.00pm
Corfe Castle – Meet at Castle View, Corfe Castle Welcome Centre guided walk ‘A Tale of Two Mills’ a walk to explore the history and archaeology of the two watermills below and either side of Corfe Castle about 1 mile lasting 1 hour.
Thursday 31 July, 10.30am – 4.00pm
Portland Museum, Church Ope Cove – Come and join us for days of archaeological fun and activities in our lovely garden! Meet Archaeologists, get hands on with real artefacts, have a go at spinning and join the Sanctuary from Bournemouth University mixing natural pigments and painting with them plus other activities.
Thursday 31 July, 2:00 – 4.00pm
Blandford Forum Town Museum – Archaeology activities for the family working with Dorset finds archaeologists Clare and Ciorstaidh handle artefacts, make mosaics and quiz.
Saturday 2 August, 2.00pm – 4.00pm
Maiden Castle, Winterborne St Martin – Guided Walk by Chris Copson meet at the Iron Age hillfort outside Dorchester to learn of its archaeology book at: Archaeological events – Dorset Council
Saturday 2 August, 2.00pm
The Corn Exchange, Wareham – Amber Manning will be giving a talk on the Kimmeridge Woman and discussing her work on the facial reconstruction of this Iron Age woman, whose remains are currently on display at Wareham Town Museum.
Search the CBA festival programme to find out more or visit the websites of participating organisations to see what is happening near you.
Don’t miss this fantastic opportunity to participate. Also, remember there are plenty of other ways to discover archaeology and heritage across the UK throughout the year at all of these amazing Dorset venues.
For further details and ticket information, https://www.archaeologyuk.org/festival.html
For more information about exhibitions and events at Dorset Museum & Art Gallery, visit dorsetmuseum.org.
With around 100 members any business in Dorset can join Dorchester Chamber from business for £60p/a (no VAT).
