Archaeology, Local and Social History Talks
Our meetings are held at:
St Catherine’s Church Hall
4 Lewens Lane
Wimborne BH21 1LE
7.30 – 9.30pm on the 2nd Wednesday of each month September to May.
There is plenty of parking and the hall is open from 7pm.
Visitors are very welcome and admission is free (though donations are much appreciated).
We occasionally hold meetings/lectures on Zoom, particularly where speakers live some distance away or find it difficult to travel. These occasions may increase with rising travel costs. We always make sure we inform members if there are changes to the programme schedule, meeting date, place or start time.
Summaries of the lectures usually appear in the following newsletter.
Our next meeting will be:
A lecture upon Piltdown Man: Adventures in archaeology forgery by Miles Russell on Wednesday 13th May 2026 at 7:30pm
In 1912, Charles Dawson found the so-called ‘missing link’ in the chain of human evolution at Piltdown in Sussex. Dawson became a global celebrity but 40 years later, Piltdown Man was exposed as nothing more than a crude hoax. This is the story of fakery, deception, animosity, suspicion, accusations, law-breaking, eviction, revenge and at least one highly suspicious death. Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction.
2025/2026 Programme
Wednesday 10th September 2025
Lecture
Marc Heighway
RAF Beaulieu: Airfield stories & what remains
Wednesday 8th October 2025
Lecture
Rebecca Bennett
Lasers & landscapes: Shedding new light on ancient Cranborne Chase
Wednesday 12th November 2025
Lecture
Jon Milward
The Waddon Hill Project
Wednesday 10th December 2025
Lecture
Nigel Jones
Keepers Cottage Stalbridge – an archaeological and historical mystery story
Wednesday 14th January 2026
Lecture (changed from the original programme)
Lilian Ladle
The prehistoric ‘temples’ of Malta
Wednesday 11th February 2026
Zoom Lecture
Sophy Charlton
Exploring early human populations in Britain using Biomolecular Archaeology
Wednesday 11th March 2026
AGM and Quiz
Ian Richardson
A fun evening with fabulous(!) prizes
Wednesday 8th April 2026
Lecture
John Wainwright
Landscapes of Early Agriculture in Turkiye, including Çatalhöyük
Wednesday 13th May 2026
Lecture
Miles Russell
Piltdown Man: adventures in archaeological forgery