What Treasures Are Waiting to Be Discovered at Dorset Museum & Art Gallery This Summer?

This summer, there's more than one way to explore Dorset's treasures. Whether it’s uncovering stories through our latest exhibition, joining specialist talks, or discovering hands-on activities with the family, there's something at Dorset Museum & Art Gallery for everyone.

Remarkable Archaeological Finds on Display for the First Time

Treasure means something different to us all. For our ancestors, it meant something too – and what they chose to bury tells us extraordinary things about their lives, their fears, and what they valued most. From precious jewellery to everyday objects, they are all valuable clues to understanding our past.

From 13 June to 13 September, Dorset Museum & Art Gallery is hosting Treasure! Lost and Found – an exhibition that celebrates some of Britain's most remarkable archaeological finds and the stories behind them. A number of items are on public display for the very first time, including the Stalbridge Hoard – a collection of objects deliberately buried over 3,000 years ago.

To help visitors engage more deeply with these finds, the exhibition features immersive digital experiences created by students from Arts University Bournemouth. These interactive installations allow visitors of all ages to understand the people behind the finds and engage with their stories in immediate and accessible ways.

The exhibition also explores the crucial role of the Treasure Act – legislation introduced in 1996 that transformed how precious archaeological finds are recorded and protected. Before the act, a number of cases sadly demonstrated how easily national treasures could be lost from public view. Today, when metal detectorists, archaeologists, and the public work together, treasures are properly recorded and preserved for everyone to enjoy. The context of a find – knowing exactly where it was buried and what lay alongside it – transforms a single object into a window onto ancient lives.

Whether objects were buried as grave goods, ritual offerings, or hidden in times of crisis, they all reveal something fundamental about human nature: our impulse to value, protect, and preserve what matters most.

The exhibition is included in Museum Entry – Members and valid Unlimited Ticket holders go free.

A Specialist Talk on Bronze Age Treasure

Dr Neil Wilkin, Curator in the Department of Prehistory and Europe at the British Museum, is coming to Dorset Museum & Art Gallery to question why Bronze Age people deliberately buried valuable, beautifully made objects – often never to retrieve them.

The talk explores what these intentional burials can reveal about prehistoric ways of thinking, focusing on moral values, ethical choices, and beliefs surrounding wealth, loss, and obligation. By examining what appears to be the deliberate and seemingly irrational destruction or withdrawal of material and economic resources, it considers how Bronze Age communities understood concepts of giving, sacrifice, and value. In doing so, it asks how acts of ‘giving up’ may have played a central role in social relationships, ritual practice, and people’s engagement with the world around them.

The talk takes place on 3 September, 6:00pm – 7:00pm at Dorset Museum & Art Gallery. Book your tickets on the Dorset Museum & Art Gallery website: https://www.dorsetmuseum.org/whats-on/why-did-dorsets-bronze-age-communities-sacrifice-valuable-things-dr-neil-wilkin/

Family Activities That Bring Ancient Treasures to Life

This summer, Dorset Museum & Art Gallery’s family activities are all about getting hands-on with discovery and learning.

On 22 August, Dorset Museum & Art Gallery is offering two free drop-in activities. Make Your Own Gold Lunula! is a craft session running at 10:30am–11:30am and 2:00pm–3:00pm, where families can create their own shimmering gold lunula – a crescent-shaped piece of ancient jewellery inspired by finds in the Treasure! Lost and Found exhibition.

You can also join local metal detectorists Karen Brown and Brian Read for our Metal Detecting – Have a Go! activity. Running from 10:30am to 3:00pm, this family digging experience lets you search for hidden coins and learn the techniques that real metal detectorists use.

Free Events for the Festival of Archaeology

For this year’s CBA Festival of Archaeology, DMAG has a great programme of free events linked to the Treasure! Lost and Found exhibition.

We are the Time Travellers – Treasure from the Dark Dorset Earth (25 July, 1:30pm – 2:30pm) is an illustrated talk by Karen Brown exploring over 1,000 years of Dorset history. From tales of murder and mayhem to Saxons and shipwrecks, Karen brings everyday people and their stories to life through local archaeological finds. Immediately following the talk, you can meet Brian Read, finder of the Piddletrenthide Hoard, in a drop-in session from 2:30pm to 4:30pm. Brian will share over 30 original artefacts – the actual treasures he's discovered – giving you a rare chance to handle and examine real archaeological finds with the person who uncovered them.

On 5 September (1:30pm – 2:30pm), join Karen Brown, Keith Brown, and Brian Read for Aspects of Metal Detecting – a talk exploring what it takes to become a metal detectorist. Again, Brian Read returns for a drop-in session (2:30pm – 4:30pm) after the talk to share his remarkable finds.

These activities are free as part of the CBA Festival of Archaeology; however the talks must be booked.

Plan Your Visit

Dorset Museum & Art Gallery is a place to connect with 250 million years of history. From archaeology to dinosaur bones and the story of Mary Anning, the archive of Thomas Hardy and the Elisabeth Frink collection and much, much more, there really is something for everyone. Head over to Dorchester this summer for an unforgettable experience filled with inspiration, learning and fun!

For more information on opening times, events and exhibition, visit our website or follow us on social media (@dorsetmuseum). We look forward to welcoming you to Dorset Museum & Art Gallery soon.