Buried Treasure - Right Here in Dorset
- 6 days ago
- 2 min read
Somewhere beneath the fields of Dorset, there are objects that haven't seen daylight for two thousand years: Bronze Age ornaments, Roman coins. Anglo-Saxon jewellery, and everyday items that were once precious to someone were hidden, lost, or deliberately buried, and are now waiting to be found again.
That's the starting point for Treasure! Lost and Found, the current major exhibition at Dorset Museum & Art Gallery, running until 13 September.
The exhibition brings together significant loans from some of Britain's most prestigious museums alongside pieces from Dorset Museum's own collection, several of which are being exhibited publicly for the very first time. It traces the stories of these objects: how they were made, what they meant, how they came to be buried, and how they came to light again. Immersive digital experiences created by students from Arts University Bournemouth help bring the people behind the finds to life in ways that work for all ages.
One question at the heart of the exhibition is particularly fascinating: why did Bronze Age communities in Dorset deliberately bury beautiful, valuable objects, and apparently never come back to retrieve them? Not lost by accident. Not hidden from an enemy. Just placed in the ground, and left. Ritual sacrifice? An offering to forces they believed in? A way of marking a moment? Historian Dr Neil Wilkin explores this question in a free evening talk on 3 September at 6pm — the kind of question that makes one consider our the rural landscape rather differently.
This Saturday: Have a go at metal detecting
If the exhibition inspires you to try your luck in the fields, here's your chance — without the muddy knees. On Saturday 22 August, 10:30am–3pm, local metal detectorists Karen Brown and Brian Read are running a family digging experience right at the museum, where you can search for hidden coins and discover what it actually feels like to find something from the past. It's hands-on and free with museum entry.
Also on 22 August: two Make Your Own Gold Lunula craft sessions (10:30am and 2pm - free but booking is required), where you can make your own shimmering replica of a crescent-shaped piece of ancient jewellery, one of the most striking and mysterious forms of early goldsmithing. The original lunulae, beaten from pure gold sheet in the Bronze Age, are among the most beautiful objects ever made in these parts.
And there's more
A number of free guided Treasure Pop-Up Tours run until 25 August at 11am. On 29 August at 11am, Dorset Council's Senior Archaeologist Steve Wallis gives a free talk on how recent fieldwork is actively changing what we know about Dorset's past. And on 5 September, Karen and Brian return to share over 30 original artefacts they have personally found in Dorset, a remarkable private collection built up through years of patient searching.
The exhibition is included in the standard museum entry ticket. Members and children under 16 go free.
Dorset Museum & Art Gallery, High West Street, Dorchester DT1 1XA. Open daily 10am–5pm. Full details and booking at dorsetmuseum.org/whats-on/treasure
