Your help is needed to help ensure the new Viking Longhouse being built at the Ancient Technology Centre in Cranborne Chase becomes a reality.

The Centre is looking for sponsors to purchase different parts of the building to help raise much-needed funds for the project.

Sponsorship starts at just £2 for a wooden shingle right up to £100 if you choose to pay for a gable post.

In return, your name will be inscribed on one of the wooden sections of the Longhouse meaning you can be a part of the history behind this fantastic new facility.

Work to build the Viking Longhouse is progressing at an impressive speed.

You could sponsor:

A shingle: £2
A floorboard: £5
A rafter: £20
A wall plate: £30
A purlin: £40
A ridge beam: £40
A tie beam: £60
One of the doors: £75
A gable post: £100

To pledge your support, please send a cheque made payable to ‘Dorset County Council’, along with your name and address and the part of the building you would like to sponsor, to:  Marnie Shaw, Outdoor Education, County Hall, Colliton Park, Dorchester, Dorset  DT1 1XJ. Or you can call 01305 224517 to request copies of the full sponsorship leaflet.

ICM is proud to be the main sponsor behind the Viking Longhouse, which will provide residential facilities for up to 40 people so the Centre can offer overnight accommodation for the first time.

It is due for completion by Christmas 2008 and will measure an impressive 24 metres in length and 7 metres in width once built.

ICM is following the progress of the building work stage-by-stage, so keep checking the website for updates. A more in-depth feature on the ATC can also be read at: http://projects.icm.ac.uk/

By Natasha Piscitelli