Vikings
One exciting archaeological recovery on display at Dorset Museum & Art Gallery highlights a time of conflict at our World Heritage Site in the past and the fascinating story preserved in time.
As a coast, we have long been vulnerable to invasion from the sea. Such seems to have been the case from a burial site on the Weymouth ridgeway, which was unearthed on the Weymouth relief road through Dorset.
Dorset Museum and Art Gallery’s display showing the skull and long bone of a likely Viking raider.
The site appears to have been a burial site of around 50 viking raiders, where the skeletal remains were found of individuals having been subject to trauma. Many individuals were believed to have been decapitated or had their throat cut.
A public execution by a road on a ridgeway would have sent a strong message to future invaders.
Carbon (C14) dates of the bones at AD 970-1025, coincides with the second viking raiding of the UK. Isotopic analysis of the bones show the individuals to have originated from various locations in Northern Europe. Of those that are identifiable, all were male.
This could have been a small part of an army but it is believed that this may have been a Viking raiding party that arrived on the coast, but were perhaps shipwrecked and washed ashore and so were relatively easy to attack and overpower.
High Angle Battery – Defence
There are various places along the Jurassic Coast that have been key defence positions through the years. Located on the isle of Portland, ‘High Angle Battery’ is a late Victorian gun battery built to help defend Portland Harbour against invasion.
nto the grassy banksHigh Angle Battery, Isle of Portland. Photograph by Steve Wallis, Dorset Council.
Constructed in the 1890s, it was designed to defend against attacking ships by firing shells upwards at a high angle onto the ships below. Battleships of the time were generally heavily armoured around their sides, but the upper parts were less armoured, making them more vulnerable to shells.The battery’s high position and network of below-ground buildings, tunnels and concealed gun emplacements made it almost invisible to enemy warships.
But, despite its formidable design, advancements in ship speed meant the site quickly became obsolete. The battery went out of use after only 10 years, never firing a single shot in combat.
The site is now a Scheduled Monument and is currently undergoing improvement work.
Find out more via these webpages:
Rediscovering High Angle Battery – Dorset Council
North Quay, Weymouth – archaeological excavations
Residents of the many towns and villages on the Jurassic Coast have seen numerous changes over the years. Some, due to natural processes such as landslides and other dynamic forces altering the landscape. Other changes have been purposefully implemented to meet the evolving needs of the area. An example of this is North Quay in Weymouth. The is the site of the former offices of Weymouth and Portland Borough Council, where archaeological investigations were carried out prior to redevelopments. Despite the name, it is actually on the south side of the harbour, which in the Middle Ages was the former settlement of Weymouth (at the time, Melcombe Regis was a separate settlement on the north side of the harbour).
areaExcavations at North Quay, Weymouth. Image by Steve Wallis, Dorset Council.
Dorset Council employed an archaeological contracting company called Context One Heritage & Archaeology to dig some trial trenches in 2021 to get an idea of what archaeology survived on the site. Largely through Context One’s own efforts, this turned into an excellent community exercise, with local people taking part and providing lots of information on the more recent history of the site. This work showed that archaeological remains linked to the early development of Weymouth were much better preserved than many had expected.
Then in the latter part of last year Dorset Council employed Context One again, this time to undertake more detailed excavation of the archaeology on the site ahead of redevelopment.
Find out more by clicking on the following link:
North Quay – Context One Archaeological Services
West Bay in the War
West Bay Discovery’s latest pop-up exhibition’ West Bay in the War’ runs until 30th June 2024. It features both existing and new research about life in West Bay in the period leading up to D Day in June 1944. The exhibition also shares recollections of local people and GI’s based in West Bay, along with an insight of the coastal defences that were put in place to guard against any possible invasion. The Centre is also keen to capture and record people’s personal stories.
The abandoned village of Tyneham
The village of Tyneham, near Lulworth was given to the military for temporary use but residents were never to return.
rees in the abandoned villageThe village of Tyneham, Dorset.
As the interpretation panel on site reads “Much has been written in which this place is cast as somehow lost, a ghost village. It is neither lost nor dead, but it has evolved in unfamiliar ways and remains one of the most beautiful places in the country. Tyneham gave its heart for its country in 1943, but with sympathetic management its soul will survive for generations to come.”
A testament to the power of resilient heritage emerging from the conflicts of war.
Dame Elisabeth Frink
Like so many World Heritage Sites, the Jurassic Coast is an inspiration to a great number of people for an array of reasons. Not least because the picturesque beauty of the area often fuels a creative spark for artists, poets and many others.
Renowned sculptor, Dame Elisabeth Frink spent many years in Dorset creating some of her most famous works. In line with the theme of this year’s World Heritage Day, conflict provided context for much of Frink’s work and by strange coincidence, Frink died on 18th April (1993).
As stated in the ‘Elisabeth Frink: A View from Within’ book by Dorset Museum & Art Gallery, “Frink’s early work was in many ways a response to her childhood experiences during the second World War, which left her, in her own words, ‘emotionally disturbed’ with nightmares that recurred for the rest of her life…Frink was profoundly influenced by the existentialism that permeated much of the art and literature of post-war Europe.” Her work can be said to be a sort of resilient heritage in itself, a form of beauty to come from the tragedy of conflict. This is perhaps embodied by one of her earlier works, the Eagle lectern at Coventry Cathedral. Frink’s eagle lectern sculpture was created to replicate that destroyed by German bombs in WWII- shown here in a special edition newspaper on the opening of Coventry’s new cathedral, celebrating heritage from the old cathedral. Coventry cathedral is also a sort of phoenix from the flames having been bombed during WWII, the old cathedral shell remains proudly next to the beautifully reimagined ‘new’ cathedral, situated in Coventry, the ‘city of Peace and Reconciliation’.
Frink moved to Dorset as a child during the second World War when her father, an army officer, was stationed in the county and returned later on, living near Blandford Forum (at Woolland House).
Special edition newspaper article showing Elisabeth Frink’s Eagle lectern sculpture in Coventry Cathedral, replacing the one that was destroyed in WWII.
Visit Dorset Museum and Art Gallery’s ‘Elisabeth Frink: A view from Within’ exhibition as well as the permanent Frink exhibition space to experience these masterpieces and learn more about Frink’s life and inspiration.
