The history of human occupation of the Wareham area goes back several hundred thousand years. The museum displays objects which range from this period up to the post-medieval period. 

Of particular interest is the collection of pottery made in the Wareham area during the Roman period, and a reconstruction of a pottery kiln found at the site of Bestwall near Wareham. 

There is also a reconstruction of an Iron Age pole lathe used for the manufacture of shale objects. This featured on the Channel 4 programme Time Team in February 2004, being used to make a shale armlet.

The displays tell the story of Wareham’s history as a port and market town, emphasising its key role in the clay industry and agricultural community. 

There are displays on the area’s geological and mineral resources, clay, oil and gravel. There are also samples of rocks and fossils from the varied rock types of Purbeck, including the cast of a footprint of a dinosaur (Iguanodon) estimated to be about 150 million years old (see left)

Many of these rocks outcrop on the coast (the Jurassic Coast) which forms part of the recently designated Dorset and Devon World Heritage Coast.

Click here for our special T E Lawrence page