Scheduled monuments in Dorset

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, hill figures, ancient Roman sites, castle ruins, and medieval abbeys. In the United Kingdom, the scheduling of monuments was first initiated to ensure the preservation of "nationally important" archaeological sites or historic buildings. Protection is given to scheduled monuments under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.