The Blackmore Vale is a vale, or wide valley, in north Dorset, and to a lesser extent south Somerset and southwest Wiltshire in southern England.
Sturminster Newton is a town and civil parish situated on the River Stour in the north of Dorset, England. The town is at the centre of the Blackmore Vale, a large dairy agriculture region around which the town's economy is built, and is known as 'the heart of the Blackmore vale'.
The Chi Rho is one of the earliest forms of the Christogram, formed by superimposing the first two (capital) letters—chi and rho (ΧΡ)—of the Greek ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ in such a way that the vertical stroke of the rho intersects the center of the chi.
North Dorset was a local government district in Dorset, England, between 1974 and 2019. Its area was largely rural, but included the towns of Blandford Forum, Gillingham, Shaftesbury, Stalbridge and Sturminster Newton. Much of North Dorset was in the River Stour valley, known as the Blackmore Vale. The economy of North Dorset was largely based on dairy agriculture.
Hinton St Mary is a village and civil parish in Dorset, southern England. It is sited on a low Corallian limestone ridge beside the River Stour, one mile north of the market town Sturminster Newton. In 2001 the parish had 97 households and a population of 221. In 2013 the estimated population of the parish was 260. In 2021 the estimated population of the parish has decreased to 225.
Dewlish is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England, and is situated approximately 7 miles (11 km) north-east of the county town Dorchester. The village is sited in the valley of the small Devil's Brook among the chalk hills of the Dorset Downs; the parish covers about 2,100 acres (850 ha) and extends west to include part of the valley of the small Cheselbourne stream, and east to include a dry valley at Dennet's Bottom. The surrounding area is part of the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). In the 2011 census the parish had a population of 284.
Fifehead Neville is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England, situated in the Blackmore Vale about two miles southwest of the town of Sturminster Newton. In the 2011 census the population of the parish was 147.
Lydlinch is a village and civil parish in the Blackmore Vale in north Dorset, England, about three miles west of Sturminster Newton. The village is sited on Oxford clay close to the small River Lydden. The parish – which includes the village of King's Stag to the south and the hamlet of Stock Gaylard to the west – is bounded by the Lydden to the east and its tributary, the Caundle Brook, to the north.
Durnovaria is a suggested spelling for the Latin form of the name of the Roman town of Dorchester in the modern English county of Dorset, amended from the actually observed Durnonovaria. Upon the assumption that the name was originally Brythonic, it is suggested that the first element in the name, *durno- may mean "fist" like and the second may be related to Old Irish fáir ~ fóir denoting a confined area or den. A simpler amendment would lead to *Duronovaria, making this place one of up to 18 ancient British names that contain Duro- and mostly occur at river crossings, while -novaria has two possible ancient parallels in Britain associated with river junctions. That analysis would perfectly fit the geographical situation of Dorchester.
Lopen is a village and civil parish in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England, situated 8 miles (12.9 km) west of Yeovil. The village has a population of 260 people.
Chedworth Roman Villa is located near Chedworth, Gloucestershire, England and is a scheduled monument. It is one of the largest and most elaborate Roman villas so far discovered in Britain and one with the latest occupation beyond the Roman period. The villa was built in phases from the early 2nd century to the 5th century, with the 4th-century construction transforming the building into an elite dwelling arranged around three sides of a courtyard. The 4th-century building included a heated and furnished west wing containing a dining-room (triclinium) with a fine mosaic floor, as well as two separate bathing suites: one for damp-heat and one for dry-heat.
Opus sectile is a form of pietra dura popularized in the ancient and medieval Roman world where materials were cut and inlaid into walls and floors to make a picture or pattern. Common materials were marble, mother of pearl, and glass. The materials were cut in thin pieces, polished, then trimmed further according to a chosen pattern. Unlike tessellated mosaic techniques, where the placement of very small uniformly sized pieces forms a picture, opus sectile pieces are much larger and can be shaped to define large parts of the design.
The Dorset Museum is located in Dorchester, Dorset, England. It was known as the Dorset County Museum until 2021. 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 neo-Gothic style.
Pitney is a village and parish in Somerset, England, located 2.5 miles (4.0 km) east of Langport and 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Somerton in the South Somerset district. In 2011, the village had a population of 374.
Petuaria was originally a Roman fort situated where the town of Brough in the East Riding of Yorkshire now stands. Petuaria means something like 'quarter' or 'fourth part', incorporating the archaic Brythonic *petuar, 'four'.
The Canterbury Roman Museum in Canterbury, Kent, houses a Roman pavement which is a scheduled monument, in the remains of a Roman courtyard house which itself is a grade I listed building. The pavement was discovered after World War II bombing, and has been open to the public since 1946. The museum was established in 1961. It houses many excavated artifacts from Roman Canterbury, including the important late Roman silver hoard known as the Canterbury Treasure, together with reconstructions of the Roman town.
A Roman mosaic is a mosaic made during the Roman period, throughout the Roman Republic and later Empire. Mosaics were used in a variety of private and public buildings, on both floors and walls, though they competed with cheaper frescos for the latter. They were highly influenced by earlier and contemporary Hellenistic Greek mosaics, and often included famous figures from history and mythology, such as Alexander the Great in the Alexander Mosaic.
Bancroft Roman Villa is a Roman villa in the Bancroft district of Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire, England. Originally a winged-corridor house, the villa eventually became a grand building with mosaics and a formal garden. The principal rooms have been marked out in Bancroft Park and the fish-pond has been reconstructed. One of the mosaics is on display in Central Milton Keynes Shopping Centre.
Mary Aylwin Cotton OBE, FSA, Hon FBA, known as Molly Cotton, was a British archaeologist and former doctor, noted for her work in Iron Age Britain - particularly hill forts - and Roman Italy. She trained archaeology students at the British School at Rome.
Nigel Reuben Rook Williams was an English conservator and expert on the restoration of ceramics and glass. From 1961 until his death he worked at the British Museum, where he became the Chief Conservator of Ceramics and Glass in 1983. There his work included the successful restorations of the Sutton Hoo helmet and the Portland Vase.
