This has been another exceptional year for archaeological research. The following are some of the most exciting projects to have featured in CA over the last 12 months – the nominees for Research Project of the Year.
Voting closed 1 February and all the winners of the Current Archaeology Awards will be announced on 25 February as part of Current Archaeology Live! 2023. Click here to find out more about the event.
Cladh Hallan: exploring the roundhouse way of life in South Uist
Sheffield University/UCL/Cardiff University/Bournemouth University, CA 382
Cladh Hallan is known for its prehistoric mummies, but excavations there have also illuminated intriguing Bronze Age and Iron Age domestic activity.
From West Africa to Wisbech: analysing 18th-century textiles in Thomas Clarkson’s campaign chest
Margarita Gleba (University of Padua), Malika Kraamer (University of Leicester), and Sarah Coleman (formerly Wisbech & Fenland Museum, now National Horseracing Museum), CA 383
Can the study of an abolitionist collection of West African textiles weave new threads into the story of
cross-cultural contacts in the era of the
Atlantic slave trade?
Artistic obscurity: analysing Britain’s most elusive Roman sculpture
Newcastle University, CA 384
Recent research in the hinterland of Hadrian’s Wall has documented a wealth of previously unknown Roman carvings and inscription, many hidden in plain sight.
Torksey: from tents to towns
University of York/University of Sheffield, CA 385
What happened at Torksey after the Viking Great Army departed? Excavations have revealed traces of a thriving pottery industry.
Prehistoric pioneers: how female migrants changed the face of Bronze Age Orkney
University of Huddersfield/EASE Archaeology, CA 387
Genetic analysis of human remains excavated at the Links of Noltland has revealed evidence of a female-dominated migration into Bronze Age Orkney.
Reinventing Ratae: exploring Roman and medieval Leicester and Leicester and Roman Africa: exploring ancient multiculturalism in the Midlands
University of Leicester Archaeological Services, CA 387 and CA 388
Investigations in Leicester over the past 20 years have uncovered evidence of the city’s growth and decline over the centuries, as well as intriguing links between Roman Leicester and North Africa.
Designed to enchant: the great dolmens of Neolithic northern Europe
Vicki Cummings (University of Central Lancashire) and Colin Richards (University of the Highlands and Islands), CA 390
This research explored why dolmens were built in the Neolithic period, their possible purpose, and whether they were deliberately designed to impress.
Migration matters: groundbreaking insights into early medieval England
Duncan Sayer (University of Central Lancashire), Stephan Schiffels, and Joscha Gretzinger (both Max Planck Institute), CA 392
New genetic data has shed light on matters of migration and integration, and on family histories in different communities in post-Roman England.
