Festival of Archaeology: Talk
The Magic and Myth of Watermeadows | Dr Kathy Stearne
25 July 2022, 7:00pm - 8:00pm
The origins of water meadows are lost in medieval times. Surface water irrigation expanded in Wessex and throughout England from the sixteenth century and was a sustainable intensive integrated agricultural system until the twentieth century. This talk looks at the origins of water meadows in England, their management and importance to agriculture through the centuries, and why they are still important in terms of landscape history and ecology today.
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Opening hours:
Daily: 9.00am - 4.30pm
Sunday: 10.00am - 4.00pm
Bank Holidays: 10.00am - 4.00pm -
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Dr Kathy Stearne
Dr Kathy Stearn has conducted 30 years of water meadows research. Growing up in the Yorkshire Dales, Kathy has a love for the countryside and history. She has worked in agriculture and conservation since 1980. Kathy gained a Doctorate in Agricultural History and Ecological Management from Imperial College London in 2004. She presently runs a consultancy for landowners and farmers, advising on conservation, ecology and hydrology. She has many years of experience as a successful lecturer and mentor and is currently working with Reading University mentoring undergraduate Students. Kathy has a passion for travel and is a resident historian on Viking Ocean Cruises, recently cruising around Norway and the Mediterranean.
Home of Hillforts & Henges is an exciting new event from 21st to 31st July that will celebrate Dorchester’s neolithic and iron age landscape, rich in earthworks and the people that have lived here for over 6,000 years.
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Co-ordinated by the Council for British Archaeology, the Festival offers hundreds of events nationwide, organised by museums, heritage organisations, national and country parks, universities, local societies, and community archaeologists.
The Festival of Archaeology will take place between 16 – 31 July 2022.
Find out moreWhat's On
21 July 2022, 7:00pm - 8:00pm
The Ridgeway Vikings: New research and findings | Heather Tamminen
Using modern digital technology, the sharp force of trauma on these individuals has been reappraised to see what new information can be learned. Bournemouth University’s Heather Tamminen will show how this technology has been able to refine the interpretations of the events that occurred and have added to the narrative of dramatic events that took place on the Ridgeway ten centuries ago.
Find out more22 July 2022, 7:00pm - 8:00pm
The Extraordinary Prehistoric Landscape Under Your Feet And Up The Hills | Steve Wallis
In this talk Steve Wallis is to explore the prehistoric landscape of the Dorchester area, covering the changes over time and the different types of monuments and remains.
Find out more25 July 2022, 7:00pm - 8:00pm
The Magic and Myth of Watermeadows | Dr Kathy Stearne
The origins of water meadows are lost in medieval times. Surface water irrigation expanded in Wessex and throughout England from the sixteenth century and was a sustainable intensive integrated agricultural system until the twentieth century. This talk looks at the origins of water meadows in England.
Find out more26 July 2022, 7:00pm - 8:00pm
The Durotriges Project | Paul Cheetham
Of all the Iron Age tribes identified from pre-Roman Britain, the Durotriges are the most culturally distinct. Roughly occupying an area that equates with modern Dorset, together with significant parts of southern Wiltshire and south-eastern Somerset, the pottery, coinage, settlements and burial practices of the Durotriges clearly marks them out from their contemporary tribal neighbours the Atrebates, Belgae, Dumnonii and Dobunni.
Find out more27 July 2022, 7:00pm - 8:00pm
VIP Archaeology: From the Neolithic to the Medieval, the archaeology of the Dorset Visual Impact Provision | John Boothroyd
Working on behalf of National Grid on its Dorset Visual Impact Provision (VIP) just outside Dorchester, a team of more than 25 archaeologists spent almost two years excavating and recording a wealth of evidence for human activity dating back 6000 years.
Find out more28 July 2022, 7:00pm
‘Anciently a manor’: the medieval manor at Lower Putton Lane, Chickerell | Dr Clare Randall
Join Dr Clare Randall to find out more about the findings from excavations at Lower Putton Lane carried out by Context One Heritage and Archaeology during 2016–2017 revealed a significant part of a manorial settlement.
Find out more29 July 2022, 7:00pm - 8:00pm
Hidden Patterns in the South Dorset Landscape | Jonathan Harwood
The positions of churches in the South Dorset Landscape, when connected together by straight lines reveal deliberate and meaningful patterns.
Find out more28 May – 30 October 2022
Take a fresh look at the Victorian novelist and poet, Thomas Hardy, in the stunning Wessex landscapes that shaped his view of the world. His story will be retold in exciting new ways by our museum collections, from period costumes to personal letters, art to archaeology.
Find out more17 June - 11 July 2022, 10:00am - 1:00pm
Hardy’s Wessex: Drawing on the ancient past
This six-week course led by artist Helen Garrett will take you on a creative journey through Thomas Hardy’s work, inspirations and Dorset Museum’s collections.
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