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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
How to get involved
There are many different ways that you can get help with this research in the valley of stones.
Visit our What's on page to find out more.
We will be hosting a whole suite of different activities to suit everyone,
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.
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 blog posts
A polissoir (neolithic polishing stone) was discovered by Past Participate in 2022 and kick started this project. From more information on this fascinating stone read our blog post.
Historic England have been carrying out a preliminary research project, primarily using aerial photos. Come along to their talk on the 30th April to find out more
