Dorset Geologist’s Association Group (DGAG) will host a talk on the Tuesday 19th November 2024.
Title: Revisiting the Stone Circles of Dorset: An Archaeologist’s Perspective of Sarsen Stones
Speaker: Dr. Anne Teather
Time: Talk will start at 7pm; finish approximately 8pm
Venue: Activity Meeting Room: Dorford Centre, Bridport Road, Dorchester, DT1 1RR Lecture
Entry Cost: £6 (£5 for DGAG members) collected on room entry
Booking a seat: Contact DGAG events at email: cwebb48578@aol.com
Talk Description: A summary provided by the speaker: In prehistory, sarsen was a popular material used by people to construct monuments and stone circles. Until our recent work, the stone circles of Dorset were last examined in depth by Stuart and Peggy Piggott in 1939. In this presentation we will start with the Kingston Russell Stone Circle, the largest preserved stone circle in Dorset, and what we have learned about it. We will also provide an introduction to a new catalogue of stone circles across the county, that occur in historic accounts but are no longer preserved, demonstrating the importance of Dorset in the late Neolithic and Bronze Age (c.2500-1500 BC). We will also look at what else sarsen stone was used for in prehistory within the South Dorset landscape, and briefly discuss ways in which people can become involved in helping us to learn more.
Past Participate are a community archaeology company who have been researching the use of sarsen stones in the South Dorset Landscape. We are passionate about making archaeology accessible and providing volunteers with high quality engagement in high quality archaeological practice. Since 2018 we have been working with local volunteers to undertake a programme of excavation and survey on Tenants Hill (near Abbotsbury) and the surrounding landscape. Thanks to National Lottery Players we have recently received a grant to enable us to undertake a new 4 year project Living amongst the Sarsens: Revealing the Hidden Heritage of the Valley of Stones.
Photo: A Stone Circle (KR) : Courtesy of the speaker : KR stone circle Copyright Jim Rylatt
Additional Links:
1. Archaeology website
https://www.pastparticipate.co.uk/
2. Archaeology blog site
https://www.pastparticipate.co.uk/blog
Dorset Geologist’s Association Group (DGAG) will host a talk on the Tuesday 20 February 2024.
Title: A Geological Tour of Namibia
Speaker: Alan Driscole (DGAG member) – forty years in the oil & gas business including the Atlantic margin from the Barents Sea south to …… Namibia
Time: Talk will start at 7pm; finish approximately 8pm
Venue: Activity Meeting Room: Dorford Centre, Bridport Road, Dorchester, DT1 1RR
Lecture Entry Cost: £6 (£5 for DGAG members) collected on room entry
Booking a seat: Contact DGAG events at email: cwebb48578@aol.com
Talk Description: From some of the oldest fossils and highest dunes in the world to the largest meteorite, Namibia is a geological treasure house. In this talk we’ll explore the history of Namibia; from the Precambrian to the present day, making a diversion offshore to see how this history has been controlled by the formation and dismemberment of Gondwanaland. We’ll also discuss Namibia’s emerging important for both “old” energy and the energy transition.
Photos A & B: Courtesy of the speaker
A: Dunes at Sossusvlei
B: The Hoba meteorite (with the speaker for scale)
Dorset Geologist’s Association Group (DGAG) will host a talk on the Tuesday 30th April 2024.
Title: Darwin the Geologist
Speaker: John Marriage; read Natural Sciences at Cambridge, including Geology for Part I, but deserted Geology for Chemistry in his final year, going on to work mostly in contract research and product development. Taking early retirement in 2000 he then concentrated on his other interests in photography and the history of photography, serving as Editor of Britain’s main journal of the history of photography for over 15 years. Living in Lyme Regis though, he did not escape geology and was for many years a Trustee of Lyme Regis Museum.
Time: Talk will start at 7pm; finish approximately 8pm
Venue: Activity Meeting Room: Dorford Centre, Bridport Road, Dorchester, DT1 1RR
Lecture Entry Cost: £6 (£5 for DGAG members) collected on room entry
Booking a seat: Contact DGAG events at email: cwebb48578@aol.com
Talk Description: The young Charles Darwin had a less than glittering academic career, but was most inspired by the geologists he met, and with whom he went on field trips around Britain. It was as a geologist that he joined the Beagle trip, and he was receiving updates of the latest geological researches back home as they docked in various ports. In this talk I’ll try to show how his scientific thinking was developing during this period, including the errors that he later recognised – which contributed to the huge delay in publishing his ideas on evolution.
Photo: Courtesy of the speaker.
Part of an image of one of Darwin’s geological sections of South America.
Additional Links: Speakers Fascinating photographic plus website
https://www.refracted.net/
