Administrative (pop., 2001: 390,986), geographic, and historic county, southwestern England.
It is located on the English Channel ; its county seat is Dorchester . Prehistoric peoples were active in the area and left abundant monuments dating from the Neolithic Period, Bronze Age, and Iron Age, including Maiden Castle, a huge earthworks just outside Dorchester. The area subsequently became part of the West Saxon kingdom. As Wessex, it appears in the writings of Thomas Hardy .