Below are the three individuals nominated for 2025’s ‘Archaeologist of the Year’, whose achievements reflect the diverse work taking place within our field.
Voting has now closed, and all the winners of the Current Archaeology Awards will be announced on 1 March as part of Current Archaeology Live! 2025. Click here to find out more about the event.
Find out more about the awards here.
Sponsor of Archaeologist of the Year 2025
Professor Julian D Richards
Julian is Professor of Archaeology at the University of York, where he researches archaeological computing and Viking archaeology. He first encountered Vikings as a student digger at Coppergate, and he has excavated important Viking sites at Cottam, Heath Wood, and Torksey. Computing started as a hobby, but in 1996 he founded the Archaeology Data Service, and co-founded one of the world’s first Open Access online journals, Internet Archaeology. The ADS has developed into a key resource for archaeological study and research, and it preserves and publishes data generated from thousands of projects, both commercial and academic. From 2024 Julian is also leading a major AHRC-funded initiative to build a sister-service for Heritage Science. Julian was awarded an OBE for services to Heritage and Digital Archiving in the 2024 New Year honours list.
Professor Joyce Tyldesley
With a background in prehistoric and Egyptian archaeology and extensive fieldwork experience in Britain, Europe, and Egypt, Joyce has a career-long determination to make the past accessible to all. She has taught archaeology at many levels, from free online MOOCs and podcasts to night-school classes (including WEA and U3A) and university courses. Joyce is currently Professor of Egyptology at the University of Manchester, where her team has developed a pioneering suite of online Egyptology programmes designed to reach students who, for various reasons, could not dream of attending traditional, face-to-face lectures. She has written over 20 scholarly yet user-friendly books for adults, and many books for children, as well as working in the museum sector, and as an interviewee on many television documentaries. In 2024, she was awarded the OBE in recognition of her services to Egyptology and heritage.
Dr Clive Waddington
Clive is a prolific archaeologist who has made significant contributions to academic, commercial, and volunteer archaeology over 30 years. After lecturing at Newcastle University where he set up, led, and published the groundbreaking Milfield, Howick, rock-art, and Maelmin Heritage Trail projects, he founded Archaeological Research Services Ltd, the first archaeological contractor to win a King’s Award for Enterprise. Appearing regularly on TV and radio, he has delivered and published high-profile excavation projects, industry guidance, coastal zone assessments, and award-winning community projects at Fin Cop, Creswell Pele Tower, and Whirlow Hall Farm, as well as setting up and funding the Community Archaeology Radiocarbon Dating (CARD) Fund which celebrated its 100th date for UK community projects this year.
Voting has now closed
