The biennial British Archaeological Awards are the most prestigious awards in British archaeology. In 2008 they encompassed 10 awards covering every aspect of British archaeology.
The Young Archaeologist of the Year Award | The Archaeological Book Award | The Best Scholarly Archaeological Book Award | The Best Archaeological ICT Project Award | The Best Archaeological TV/Radio Programme Award | The Best Archaeological Discovery Award | The Best Archaeological Innovation Award | The Best Amateur or Independent Project Award | The Best Archaeological Project Award | The Lifetime Acheivement Award | Summary
Each year the Young Archaeologists’ Club organises the prestigious Young Archaeologist of the Year Award, which celebrates its 31st birthday this year! The Award is open to all young people living in the UK, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man between the ages of 8 and 16. There are three categories: 8–11, 12–16 and groups. Every year the challenge has a different theme and this year it was archaeological illustration.
The Young Archaeologists’ Club challenged budding young archaeologists to choose three objects – old or new – and record them archaeologically. There were a large number of entries, all of which were of a very high standard and featured excellent photographs, illustrations and written descriptions of the entrants’ chosen objects.
The group category was judged by Roger Bland, Head of Portable Antiquities and Treasure here at the British Museum. He told organisers that, “All of the shortlisted entries had much to commend them and all were interestingly different.” The runner up in this category is Dunottar School Archaeology Group whose young members produced a wonderful project based on objects that the children had found in their gardens. The group have received certificates and some books for their school.
The winning group this year is Lancaster Young Archaeologists’ Club. They linked their entry to a project run by the Branch which aims to care for the neglected remains of a Roman bath-house in Lancaster. Not only did they produce a great written project but they have curated an accompanying display in the Lancaster City Museum. The group are not here with us today but will be awarded with a range of goodies as well as a behind-the-scenes visit to a nearby property owned by National Trust early in the new year.
The 8–11 and 12–16 categories were judged by Time Team illustrator Victor Ambrus. Victor said that, “The entries were all very good in their own way and it was extremely difficult to select winners”.
The winners both win an all expenses paid, behind the scenes day at the British Museum as well as prizes kindly donated by the British Museum.
Victor chose Jocelyn Lee, aged 11 from Surrey and Aidan Walker, aged 10 from Nottinghamshire as the runners up in the 8–11s category for their excellent and detailed drawings. Both boys receive certificates and some great archaeology themed prizes!
This year, however, the very talented winner of the age 8–11 category is Nadia Morris, aged 11 from Berkshire, who submitted a wonderful entry with very accomplished drawings. Nadia chose three really interesting objects which all came from places that she had visited in Cornwall. She also chose them because they were items that looked like they could be antiques but are in fact modern. She chose a pewter teaspoon, a replica medieval bracelet and a replica medieval coin. Well done Nadia!
In the 12–16 category the runners up are Caitriona McCartney, aged 16 from Derby, and Charlie Ford, aged 13 from Wiltshire. Their entries were of a very high standard featuring excellent descriptions and illustrations. Caitriona and Charlie both will receive certificates and archaeological goodies!
Our congratulations go to Madeleine Phillips, aged 12 from London, who is this year’s winner of the age 12–16 category. Madeleine’s drawings were also very well executed and depicted some interesting objects. The items that Madeleine chose to record all came from her very own cabinet of curiosities, an assortment of finds that she has collected over time. The objects that feature in her project are a military cap badge, a bullet and a flint knife. Particularly interesting was Madeleine’s drawing and description of the badge. She explained in her introduction that she found it when she was just five and that it inspired her interest in history and archaeology.
The Archaeological Book Award is supported by Cathedral Communications and is for a publication which increases understanding of the past and introduces it to new audiences. The finalists are:
The judging panel highly commended 3 books:
• Andrew Lawson, Chalkland: an archaeology of Stonehenge and its region
• Roger Rosewell, Medieval Wall Paintings
• Tony Wilmott, The Roman Amphitheatre in Britain
The winner of the Archaeological Book Award for 2008 is Chris Stringer, for Homo Britannicus: the incredible story of human life in Britain published by Allen Lane/Penguin.
The Scholarly Archaeological Book Award is supported by the Society of Antiquaries of London and is for a publication which changes understanding of the past. The finalists are:
Two books are Highly commended:
• David Bowsher, Tony Dyson, Nick Holder & Isca Howell, for The London Guildhall: an archaeological history of a neighbourhood from early medieval to modern times published by the Museum of London Archaeology Service, and
• John Schofield & Wayne Cocroft, for A Fearsome Heritage: Diverse Legacies of the Cold War published by Left Coast Press, Inc
The winner is Thomas McErlean & Norman Crothers, for Harnessing the Tides: The Early Medieval Tide Mills at Nendrum Monastery, Strangford Lough published by TSO Ireland, for the Northern Ireland Environment Service.
The Best Archaeological ICT Project Award has the generous ongoing support of Channel 4. As with previous years, we have received entries from number of bodies that reflects the diversity of the discipline as a whole. These have included local authorities, Higher Education Institutions, publishers, and national bodies. Again, as with previous years, it was a challenge to nominate an overall winner, with all three short-listed finalist entries being very close in the minds of the judging panel.
The first two finalists are highly commended:
The third finalist and winner of the 2008 Awards is the Community Archaeology Forum, run by the Council for British Archaeology. The role of the forum is to provide an online resource for anyone involved in a community archaeology project. This includes listings of nearly 40 community archaeology projects, advice on various aspects of good practice eg finds conservation, where to get funding, and how to properly archive your work. Most importantly the judges were impressed by the fact that the whole site is based on “wiki” technology, which enables any registered user to create online material for themselves, that can be shared with the rest of the forum. It is this use of “Web 2.0” technologies that the panel are keen to see develop in future years.
This year the criteria for the Channel Four Award for the Best Archaeological TV/Radio Programme were altered slightly to include radio programmes for the first time. Of the broadcast programmes considered, three stood out.
The bravest and most accomplished piece was The Wednesday Documentary – Heritage: the archaeology of the Balkans – Kosovo by the BBC World Service. This dealt with the difficulties of heritage management and restoration in the highly charged political atmosphere of the Balkans and brought home the linkage between a nation and its heritage. The judges were most impressed with it and awarded it a commendation.
Bold in scope was the Time Team Special, Britain’s Drowned World, by Videotext Communications for Channel 4. This looked at the archaeological discoveries under the North Sea and English Channel - the landscape drowned as glaciers of the last Ice Age receded and the level of the sea rose. The timescale involved and the variety of disciplines encompassed is considerable. This wide ranging review of a very new subject, and one with resonances within present global warming was runner up for the award.
Judging panels rarely come quickly to an almost unanimous agreement, but this year, they did when considering Culloden: A New Battle – by BBC Scotland for BBC Radio 4. Radio, of course, can have the best pictures, and this successfully conjured up the battle itself. It also conveyed the way in which history and archaeology are not only a matter of excavation and research but also impinge upon our embedded perceptions of the past. The Culloden team have not just redrawn the battle lines, they have shown that the two armies were far from the simple English-Scots clash of popular imagination. The result is a vivid reminder of Oscar Wilde’s maxim that the truth is never pure and rarely simple. By almost universal acclaim, this was considered the most innovative and revealing of the programmes considered and the panel awarded it the Channel Four Award for 2008.
The Award for the Best Archaeological Discovery of 2007–08 is sponsored by Professor Mike Aston. Six discoveries from the world of UK archaeology were entered for this new award. The nominations included archaeological objects, sites, people and ideas. Wessex Archaeology nominated the discovery of 75 Palaeolithic hand axes from the North Sea, Tom Flowers put forward his reinterpretation of the Southern Circle at Durrington Walls, while the entry from Pre-Construct Archaeology was for Robin Taylor-Wilson for a Roman altar recovered during an excavation in Manchester.
Three of the entries came from the Portable Antiquities Scheme, through its Finds Liaison Officers, underlining the invaluable contribution being made by responsible metal detector users who choose to record their finds with the local Finds Liaison Officers. One such officer, Angie Bolton, nominated metal detectorist Andrew Gardner, for his discovery of a rare Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age site in Warwickshire. Kurt Adams put forward another detectorist, Peter Twinn, for locating a previously unknown Roman site near Thornbury in Gloucestershire while detectorist Nick Green's discovery of a hoard of late Bronze Age ingots in Surrey was nominated by David Williams.
The judging panel recommended the presentation of two Highly Commended certificates to Andrew Gardner for his discovery of a rare prehistoric site in Warwickshire and to Robin Taylor-Wilson for the discovery and reporting of a Roman altar from Manchester.
The winner of the Archaeological Discovery of the Year award is Jan Meulmeester and Hanson Aggregates Marine Limited together with the British Marine Aggregate Producers Association for their discovery and subsequent investigation of a unique group of Palaeolithic hand axes from the North Sea off Great Yarmouth. Jan is an amateur palaeontologist and he had been given permission to look over the dredged material when it arrived at Vlissingen in the Netherlands when he noticed the first of 75 stone tools. Jan's actions, and those of others who became involved immediately after the discovery, were exemplary. The panel were particularly impressed with the role of the English and Dutch national heritage services who, using the British Marine Aggregate Producers Association (BMAPA) ‘Protocol for Reporting Finds of Archaeological Interest’, co-ordinated the response to Jan’s unique find and protected the source of the hand axes from further dredging. Hanson Aggregates Marine Limited has been a willing participant in the BMPAP protocol and the company took a leading role in co-ordinating a press release and setting up detailed web pages describing this important discovery. The find was reported across the world on TV, radio and in newspapers, while the thousands of online hits demonstrate that this find really engaged with the public’s fascination with archaeology. Overall this was, and continues to be, an excellent archaeological project.
The Award for the Best Archaeological Innovation of the last two years is a new Award but stems directly from our concern to acknowledge the ideas behind so many successful projects. It is supported by Atkins Heritage.
The judging panel commended two projects. The first is for Methodological developments in the luminescence dating of bricks from English late-medieval and post-medieval buildings. This is an important piece of scientific work, extending the applicability of luminescence dating to bricks and other construction materials. This potentially offers new sources of information to those interested in the study of historic buildings.
The second Highly Commended certificate is for the Framework Archaeology Freeviewer. While many elements of this combination of GIS and database are used in other places this team have taken things a step further by making these large archives available to a much wider body in an easily accessible format. We think others will quickly follow in their footsteps using this as a benchmark. Freeviewer, in making available the primary data from some very large excavations, is clearly contributing to the dissemination of knowledge in British archaeology.
The winner of the Best Archaeological Innovation for 2008 is the Linking Electronic Archives and Publications project. This is clearly a worthwhile development, revolving around hyper-linking different pieces of information on the World Wide Web. Clearly, the two British exemplars are helping in the dissemination of knowledge of British archaeology. The work clearly makes these results – and their underlying evidence - available to anyone who has access to the Internet, and this is obviously beneficial.
The Best Amateur or Independent Archaeological Project is better known as the Pitt Rivers Award. Since the beginning of the Awards, it has been sponsored by the Robert Kiln Charitable Trust. The judging panel offer three Highly Commended certificates.
The first is for a ten year field walking project by a small but very enthusiastic amateur group produced highly significant results for a low lying area close to the Thames never previously studied. For impressive discoveries of multi-period sites and artefacts admirably published in both paper and on CD, Datchet Village Society is Highly Commended.
The second Highly Commended project is a community project conducted under testing conditions affected the comprehensive archaeological survey of an extensive early coal mining landscape. The result was a major re-assessment of the known archaeology of the area. For the Middleton Park Community Archaeological Project, Friends of Middleton Park are Highly Commended.
The final Highly Commended certificate is for an extremely competent, well organised and fascinating excavation of an Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Street House, Yorkshire, involving local residents and archaeological society members that lead to prompt publication by Teeside Archaeological Society.
The Graham Webster Laurels is for the amateur project which contributes most to education in archaeology goes to a major long term project by a well known and well respected amateur group. As well as being a very successful training excavation of an important 1st and 2nd century site the project has expanded to incorporate an educational project using the site and material obtained from it to involve local schools, colleges and other archaeology groups. In addition, an HLF grant has enabled the group to recruit a part-time educational officer. For a project that is in the best tradition of large scale amateur endeavours the Graham Webster Laurels are deservedly awarded to Bath and Camerton Archaeological Society for the Blacklands Project.
The Pitt-Rivers Award for the Best Amateur or Independent Project goes to another first class and fascinating long-term project by a well-established group with a good track record. The work involved the comprehensive archaeological survey of over 400 square kilometres of Upper Tweeddale and the selective excavation of sites threatened by fluctuating reservoir water levels and forests and was carried out entirely by volunteers. The objectives of the project were clear cut, the work was performed to a commendably high standard and, crucially, publication was timely, thorough and made readily available through an excellent web site. The panel was very happy to give the Pitt-Rivers Award for 2008 to Biggar Museum Archaeology Group.
The Best Archaeological Project is sponsored by the Institute for Archaeologists. This year, we are awarding two Highly Commended certificates.
The Scotland’s Rural Past project undertaken by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) with the support of the HLF, Historic Scotland, The National Trust for Scotland and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, seemed to us to be an extremely well-thought-out procedure for reaching and linking dispersed and perhaps isolated centres of enthusiasm over a country defined by its difficult geography. Already the participation of over 500 volunteers from 49 local projects is impressive and the strong links between the official bodies, the volunteers and schools would seem to be sustainable and of considerable potential. The focus of the project upon the remains of a period/way of life that received relatively little attention until quite recently will inevitably help develop local understanding of the relatively recent past, in turn promoting the preservation of at least an appropriate sample of these ubiquitous remains, while hopefully encouraging adventure into more distant periods.
The second Highly Commended certificate goes to The Shapwick Project. The judges saw this project as a terrific example of professional/amateur co-operation in the best tradition of ‘university extra-mural’ activity landscape survey involving local people in a prolonged exercise of multi-disciplinary data collection feeding into a central ‘synthesis-engine’. The maintenance of enthusiasm, consistency, and uniformly high standards over a period of nineteen years has been a fantastic achievement by a dedicated and well-structured team. Flowing from this is an outstanding study of national, indeed international, significance that has been fully published and for which a syntheses for the general reader is planned. But the ultimate accolade is the success in Mike Aston’s stated aim to create a community archaeology with its much-to-be-desired outcome of an embedded understanding, leading to instinctive care, of the local heritage.
Our winning entry for the Best Archaeological Project was the Heathrow Terminal 5 Excavation and Publication Project undertaken by Framework Archaeology. The decision of the judges was unanimous although hard-wrought in view of the stiffness of the competition. We particularly admired the Heathrow Project for its innovative approach to collaboration, which rendered the daunting scale of the project attainable; for its ambitious and widely visionary research programme which was undoubtedly largely enabled by the project's innovative recording systems and participatory interpretative approaches; and its exciting layered approach to dissemination, and public involvement at all levels. These have all contributed to a quite stunning rapidity in result processing and consequently imminent and innovative publication of those results. The whole project stands as an exemplary exercise in execution, interpretation and dissemination with absolute commitment to the highest professional standards at every point.
Vivien Swan, in a past life, was a member of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historic Monuments of England. While there, she produced, with Humphrey Welfare, a book on the Roman Camps of England. But her real interest became manifest: Roman pottery. Such material had long been recognised for its dating value, but it took a long time for its wider use in offering information on supply, the Roman economy, diet, ethnicity, troop movements, and through that the history of Roman Britain, to be appreciated. Vivien has played a pivotal part in helping us all understand the wider value of Roman pottery for understanding our past. It is never easy to be at the cutting edge of new developments and her ideas have not always met a receptive audience. But she has persevered and published and has had the pleasure of hearing the accolades from international audiences who realise that Vivien is leading the field throughout Europe. We will never see Roman pottery in the same simplistic way again.
Roy Friendship-Taylor has undertaken voluntary work in British archaeology over the last 36 years. Throughout that period he has striven to bring the discoveries, knowledge and archive developed by the Upper Nene Archaeological Society to the attention, benefit and use of the community in its widest sense. He has been chairman of the Upper Nene Society for those 36 years and during that time directed three major excavations at the late Iron Age and Roman-British settlement at Quinton, the medieval moated manor at the same site, both of which are published and the late Iron Age settlement and Roman-Britain villa at Piddington. This is one of the most thoroughly excavated and researched such site in the Midlands. In order to house, maintain and make available for research the extensive archive, a disused chapel was purchased, with Roy raising the funding through grants from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and elsewhere. This work has been recognised by various awards and prizes.
Winner Clive Orton’s career in archaeology began in 1963 when he began excavating in Winchester with Martin Biddle. His initial academic training was in mathematics and mathematical statistics, but he soon converted to archaeology, undertaking a Certificate in Field Archaeology from the Extra-Mural Department of the University of London in 1972. He worked on excavations across London and then moved to an academic base within the Institute of Archaeology in University College London. After 22 years he retired as a Professor earlier this year, although he is still actively involved with supporting students. As well as being a world figure in statistics and quantitative methods in archaeology, and the author of several highly acclaimed books, Clive has been a life long supporter of archaeology in London, editing the London Archaeologist magazine for many years, and serving as President of the London & Middlesex Archaeological Society. Clive commands huge respect across the archaeological sector, and is still an active researcher, teacher and mentor.
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