Hidden Patterns in the South Dorset Landscape | Jonathan Harwood
29 July 2022, 7:00pm - 8:00pm
The positions of churches in the South Dorset Landscape, when connected together by straight lines (drawn from church symbol to church symbol on a map at a scale of 1:25,000) reveal deliberate and meaningful patterns.
Jonathan began to explore these patterns in 1997 and, over the years, has carefully considered whether these arrangements of churches in the landscape could be the result of chance. This would be the most obvious explanation since, apart from anything else, it seems out of the question that surveying techniques in Antiquity would have been up to the job. We have a strong tendency, however, to underestimate the capabilities of our ancestors.
In this talk, Jonathan explores his hypothesis that one particularly remarkable pattern encapsulates the, to us, very curious beliefs and practices of Gnostic Christians who were present amongst the villa-owning elite in Dorset during the Roman period.
In the 17th century, a group of puritans in Dorchester pursued a project to transform the town into the ‘New Jerusalem’. More than a thousand years before it seems that another group was motivated to imprint a scaled-up version of the floor plan of the Holy of Holies of the Temple of Solomon onto the Dorset landscape.
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Dorset Museum & Art Gallery
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What's On
2 December 2023 - 21 April 2024
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Find out more2 December 2023 - 21 April 2024
Awakened by Frink
Awakened by Frink is a community exhibition of artwork by members of the Deaf community created during a series of workshops at Dorset Museum and Art Gallery.
Find out more3 February - 30 May 2024
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Discover the little-known story of John Brown, in this new showcase display outside the Collections Discovery Centre.
Find out more24 April 2024, 7:30pm
Yuanfan Yang, Pianist
Pianist and composer Yuanfan Yang, born in Edinburgh, is a First-Class Graduate of the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music in London. He has won numerous prizes at international piano competitions and has performed with prestigious orchestras worldwide. Yuanfan is also an accomplished composer, winning awards for his compositions. His debut album "Watercolour" received critical acclaim.
Find out more2 May 2024, 10:00am- 10:30am
Storytime at the Museum
Come and join us for fun-filled Storytime where you can listen to some amazing tales in our Community Space at the Museum.
Find out more16 May 2024, 10:00am- 10:30am
Storytime at the Museum
Come and join us for fun-filled Storytime where you can listen to some amazing tales in our Community Space at the Museum.
Find out more16 May 2024, 7:00pm - 8:30pm
Paul Nash in Dorset | Professor Paul Gough
This richly illustrated lecture explores over 80 Paul Nash artworks created from the mid-1930s until his death in 1946. They range from ancient places such as Maiden Castle and Badbury Rings to the limestone promontories and fossilised forests on the Purbeck coast.
Find out more22 May 2024, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Collections Discovery Centre Tour
Join our Collections Team for an opportunity to explore behind the scenes in the Museum’s Collections Discovery Centre.
Find out more22 May 2024, 7:30pm