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Living Amongst the Sarsens:
A four year collaborative archaeology research project in South Dorset that you can be involved with
Archaeology for you
Why is the Valley of Stones important?
The Valley of Stones is in South Dorset, near Abbotsbury. It is a National Nature Reserve and well known for its geological importance. It is also a scheduled archaeological site.
The Valley is crisscrossed with archaeology from early prehistory until today. The most obvious features are the field boundaries but a polissoir (Neolithic polishing stone) is the most important find to date
Despite its current peaceful and natural appearance the Valley of Stones also used to be used for more domestic and industrial purposes- stone extraction is an obvious one and some of the sarsen stones show evidence of being split or worked.
How to get involved
There are many different ways that you can get involved in the Valley of Stones.
Visit our What's on page to find out more.
The Valley of Stones is a perfect location to visit under your own steam. Download our guided walk leaflet and find out more about accessing the site.
In 2026 we are very excited to be welcoming an artist and writer to the Living Amongst the Sarsens Project. Genevieve Carver and Ollie Cameron are both brilliantly creative and are going to bring an extra dimension to our work.
Project aims
By the end of the project we will have learnt much more about the archaeology within the Valley of Stones. How was this landscape used, who by and when?
We will also have told this story to many many more people. The long term legacy will be a digital, interactive map and new physical interpretation boards
What have we learnt so far
For the most up to date results please read our newsletters.
A polissoir (neolithic polishing stone) was discovered by Past Participate in 2022 and kick started this project. Since then we have excavated a brickworks and conducted a survey of the sarsen stones.
Historic England have also been carrying out a preliminary research project, primarily using aerial photos. We hope to be able to share this soon.
PARTNERS AND FUNDERS
PROJECT PARTNER
NATURAL ENGLAND
Past Participate have partnered with Natural England for this project. Natural England manage the National Nature Reserve. They were working with EuCan volunteers to clear scrub and undergrowth when they alerted us and the polissoir was spotted!
PRIMARY PROJECT FUNDER
NATIONAL HERITAGE LOTTERY FUND
Using money raised by National Lottery players, The National Lottery Heritage Fund supports projects that connect people and communities with the UK’s heritage. Living sarsens is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, you are going to be able to learn more about the archaeology of the valley of stones.
PROJECT CONTRIBUTER
Historic England
Historic England have been conducting their own research project in the Valley of Stones.
PROJECT FUNDER
FARMING IN PROTECTED LANDSCAPES, DORSET NATIONAL LANDSCAPE
We are grateful for the support of the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme.
Sponsor a sarsen
Loyal volunteers, participants and public donations
We have received some very generous donations from members of the public through our sponsor a sarsen appeal. In due course we will publish a map of the sarsen, with sponsors getting a stone named after them!
Local people and businesses
Landowners
We are very grateful for all the landowners who allow us access to the archaeological sites. Gorwell Farm have also been very generous in letting us use their barn for events.