Rescue archaeology is carried out in areas threatened by human or natural agency. We’ve collated some of the best rescue projects that have been highlighted in Current Archaeology over the past year. Below are the nominees for Rescue Project of the Year.
Voting has now clsoed, 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.
Click here for links to all the awards categories.
Peter Sommer Travels – Sponsor of Rescue Project of the Year 2025
People of Ranelagh: repopulating a forgotten settlement-cemetery in Co. Roscommon
IAC Archaeology / Queen’s University Belfast / Roscommon County Council / Transport Infrastructure Ireland, CA 407
In 2015, archaeological investigations ahead of routine road improvement works on the N61 in Ireland uncovered a medieval settlement that evolved over the course of 1,000 years into a prosperous centre of production, accompanied by hundreds of burials in a multigenerational cemetery, before fading into obscurity.
If walls could talk: tracing Beaumaris’ lost town defences
CR Archaeology, CA 407
Excavations revealed part of Beaumaris’ medieval defences, long believed to have been demolished: discoveries designated ‘of national significance’ that led to the historic remains receiving scheduled status.
Piety and plague: exploring evidence for life and death in Cambridge’s Augustinian friary
Cambridge Archaeological Unit / After the Plague, CA 409
Illuminating archaeological work in central Cambridge has revealed structural and human remains associated with one of the many religious communities that once played a key role in the medieval town.
Frame of reference: rare wooden funerary finds from Roman London
MOLA, CA 409
Excavations in London have uncovered part of a Roman cemetery, where waterlogged conditions have preserved five oak coffins and what may be Roman Britain’s first complete funerary bed.
A villa unveiled: uncovering luxury living and ‘ritual activity’ in Roman Oxfordshire
Red River Archaeology Group, CA 411
Ongoing excavations at Grove, near Wantage, have uncovered the remains of a previously unknown Roman villa, insights into the lives of its inhabitants, and tantalising hints of more puzzling ceremonial activity at the site.
From stronghold to Steel City: uncovering the ‘birthplace of Sheffield’
Wessex Archaeology / Sheffield City Council, CA 414
Recent archaeological work in central Sheffield has uncovered long-buried traces of the city’s medieval castle, as well as remains relating to its influential industrial past.
Buried at Bodicote: investigating unusual inhumations at an Iron Age farmstead in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds
Archaeological Research Services Ltd, CA 416
Archaeological work ahead of a new housing development near Banbury has uncovered the remains of an Iron Age farmstead, including ten pit burials with unexpected characteristics.
Archaeology and climate change: cherishing our archaeology in the face of environmental challenges
RCAHMW / The Discovery Programme / Aberystwyth University / Geological Survey Ireland, CA 417
We explore the methods and findings of an innovative project investigating the impact of climate change on archaeological sites on both sides of – and under – the Irish Sea.
Voting has now closed
