Dorset County Museum
Encyclopedia
The Dorset County Museum is located in Dorchester, Dorset, England
. Founded in 1846, the museum covers the county of Dorset
's history and environment. The current building was built in 1881 on the former site of the George Inn. The building was designed specifically to house the museum's collection and is in the Gothic
style.
The museum includes information and over 2 million artifacts associated with archaeology (e.g., Maiden Castle
), geology
(e.g., the Jurassic Coast
), history
, local writers (e.g. Thomas Hardy
) and natural science. There are video displays, activity carts for children, and an audio guide. The collections include fossilised dinosaur
footprints, Roman
mosaics and original Thomas Hardy manuscripts.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Founded in 1846, the museum covers the county of Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
's history and environment. The current building was built in 1881 on the former site of the George Inn. The building was designed specifically to house the museum's collection and is in the Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
style.
The museum includes information and over 2 million artifacts associated with archaeology (e.g., Maiden Castle
Maiden Castle, Dorset
Maiden Castle is an Iron Age hill fort south west of Dorchester, in the English county of Dorset. Hill forts were fortified hill-top settlements constructed across Britain during the Iron Age...
), geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
(e.g., the Jurassic Coast
Jurassic Coast
The Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. The site stretches from Orcombe Point near Exmouth in East Devon to Old Harry Rocks near Swanage in East Dorset, a distance of ....
), history
Local history
Local history is the study of history in a geographically local context and it often concentrates on the local community. It incorporates cultural and social aspects of history...
, local writers (e.g. Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a...
) and natural science. There are video displays, activity carts for children, and an audio guide. The collections include fossilised dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
footprints, Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
mosaics and original Thomas Hardy manuscripts.