From Glitz to gushers -The story of Kimmeridge Shale

There is a Dorset industry at least as old as farming stretching back in one form or another to the Iron Age.
Thousands of years ago hairy entrepreneurs beavered away at the Purbeck beauty spot of Kimmeridge carving and turning beautiful objects that found a market across the country.
For it is here that a dark seam of bituminous oilshale, known locally as blackstone, outcropped from the low cliffs enclosing the bay. 

Iron age Kimmeridge shale bowl

Cut and polished with beeswax it closely resembled jet, that black shiny stuff beloved by Victorian jewellers. 
Evidence of these early bling manufacturers once littered the beach in the form of discarded cores from worked shale known locally as Kimmeridge coal money.

Kimmeridge coal money

 
With the arrival of Rome there were two 'factories' producing objects that have cropped up as far away as Hadrian's wall...these vary from simple bracelets to gold studded mace heads while in the County Museum can be found a delicately carved shale table leg.

Roman shale table leg

 
With the departure of the Romans the shale that made locals look good now made them feel warm. The oil impregnated shale was used as fuel even though it produced highly toxic fumes. This continued down to Victorian times when the potential of oil-bearing rock was recognised with the founding in 1848 of the catchily entitled Bituminous Shale Company in Weymouth which processed the shale to produce paraffin. Unfortunately, it also produced wafts of sulphurous fumes and was abandoned in the 1850s.
This wasn't the end of the story...where Texas boldly swaggered Kimmeridge modestly followed. 
The early 20th century saw attempts at oil extraction leading to Dorset's first gusher in 1968.  Soon a new animal stood silhouetted in the Dorset landscape, the nodding donkey. Dorset's first oil well, boringly, but descriptively called 'Well One', which was soon extracting 28 million gallons of crude a year.
Don't worry worry though, dropping output now means that Wareham is unlikely ever to become Wallas or Wessex, Wexas...

Photo.  by Huligan0

Hills and Views - Maiden Castle

Maiden Castle, the largest Iron Age hill fort in Europe, occupies a low hill just a mile or so from the town of Dorchester, yet  it still manages to retain an atmosphere of airy isolation. The still-lofty defensive banks and ditches rise up like frozen waves and are a charmed place to lie back and listen to the atmospheric cry of the invisible skylark.

To really appreciate the earthwork requires wings, as only then can you appreciate the sophisticated layout of this ancient structure.
Here, 2000 years ago, the Roman army, led by Vespasian faced the local lot, the Durnovaria, in a battle that was probably a forgone conclusion; British slingshots would have been no match for Rome's state-of-the-art ballistas.

The story of their last stand was painted in chilling detail when archaeologist Mortimer Wheeler conducted an extensive dig here some seventy years ago. A mass grave of the defenders was uncovered, the skeletons clearly exhibiting battle wounds; while huge reserves of slingstones brought from nearby Chesil Bank lay unused .
Today life here is much more peaceful, the occupation force is mainly sheep, lambs and dog walkers; the hill's occupants having  long ago forsaken their ancestral home for the bright lights of Dorchester town.

Roman Dorset

The Roman conquest of Dorset and the southwest was led by the future emperor, Vespasian, later responsible for the sack of Jerusalem. The locals stood little chance against the well organised legions. Evidence of battle, slingstones and mass graves (see here) were discovered at Maiden Castle on the outskirts of Dorchester in the 1940's.

Vespasian

Dorchester itself was originally the Roman town of Durnovaria and has proved rich in in artefacts, many of which can be found in the County Museum.

The remains of this centuries-long occupation are surprisingly scant, though worth searching out. 

I suppose you could say Colosseums aren't legion in Dorset...

Roman Town House, Dorchester  This site is the best preserved example of a Roman town house in the country. 

A chance discovery in 1937 revealed a complex of eight buildings dating from the early 4th century AD. it was adorned with costly mosaics and painted plaster around 350ad. The Roman Town House can be seen in Colliton Park, in the grounds of County Hall, Dorchester. The site is open every day of the year. Admission is free.

Roman Road, Puddletown Forest  Only recently rediscovered, it was originally part of a road that ran from Exeter to London. Remains run for half a mile and take the form of a high bank more than 15ft high with ditches either side.

Roman aqueduct  The aqueduct ran for about twelve miles from Notton to Dorchester places where it was cut into the hillside can still be seen. Originally about 5 ft wide and 3 ft deep and delivering 8 million gallons a day.

Ackling Dyke Roman Road  The route of the road runs for 22 miles arrow straight from the outskirts of Salisbury to the hill fort of Badbury Rings cutting through any pre Roman monuments which happens to be in its way. The route can be easily followed as it is a right of way much of it takes the form of a raised bank or agger for drainage and to create a statement of Roman might to the newly vanquished Britons.

Roman Temple, Maiden Castle Dorchester  Constructed about 400AD similar in plan to Jordan Hill and as beautifully situated within the ramparts of the hillfort of Maiden castle the site of a resounding Roman victory over the Britons and looking across the fields to the Roman town of Dorchester.

Maumbury Rings  Originally a Neolithic henge this large circular earthwork 85ft in diameter was adapted by the Romans to serve as a amphitheatre and in the 17thcentury as a place of execution.

Maumbury Rings

Late Roman Temple, Jordan Hill, Weymouth  Only the foundations are visible of this 4-5th century square columned temple various ritual foundation deposits were discovered as well as the remains of hundred burials in the area surrounding it. It is an atmospheric site with fine panoramic views

Never steal ice creams from a Weymouth man

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BEFORE WEYMOUTH TRIP

I'm just back from the excellent Viking exhibition at the British Museum. In pride of place were some unfortunate victims of Dorsetshire wrath.
During the the building of a new road on the downs above Weymouth several years ago archaeologists made a unique discovery. Strewn at the bottom of a pit were the the skeletons of around fifty decapitated men, their skulls lying in a neat pile close by. 
The site was soon identified as the location of a mass execution dating from the 10thC. DNA tests showed that all of the victims originated from Scaninavia and were aged 18-25, which points meant that the victims were almost certainly a captured Viking raiding party. 
If your idea of your average Viking is that of a healthy strapping kind of fellow; the bones show that many definitely weren't, the victims suffered a variety of diseases from gall stones to running sores. All bore the evidence of savage and inexpert execution. There was also several more skeletons than heads making archaeologists speculate that some heads were taken to be displayed as a warning to others.
If you can't make the Viking exhibition there are plans afoot to display the find in the near future at the County Museum in Dorchester.

AFTER WEYMOUTH TRIP