There are more than 1000 scheduled monuments in the county of Dorset, in South West England. These
protected sites date from the Neolithic period and include
barrows,
stone circles
A stone circle is a ring of standing stones. Most are found in Northwestern Europe – especially in Britain, Ireland, and Brittany – and typically date from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, with most being built from 3000 BC. The ...
,
hill figures, ancient
Roman sites, castle ruins, and medieval abbbeys.
In the United Kingdom, the scheduling of monuments was first initiated to insure the preservation of "nationally important" archaeological sites or historic buildings. The protection given to scheduled monuments is given under the
Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979
The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 or AMAAA was a law passed by the UK government, the latest in a series of Ancient Monument Acts legislating to protect the archaeological heritage of England & Wales and Scotland. Northe ...
Notable scheduled monuments in Dorset
See also
*
List of scheduled monuments
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a 'nationally important' archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation used for legally protecting heritage assets from dama ...
*
List of World Heritage Sites in the United Kingdom
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites are places of importance to cultural or natural heritage as described in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972.
There are 33 ...
References
{{reflist
Scheduled monuments in Dorset