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 5 February and all the winners of the Current Archaeology Awards will be announced on 24 February as part of Current Archaeology Live! 2024. Click here to find out more about the event.
Click here for links to all the awards categories.
Sponsor of Research Project of the Year
The Ness of Brodgar: marking 20 years of Neolithic discoveries
Ness of Brodgar Trust, CA 395
The Ness of Brodgar has recently marked 20 years of excavations, uncovering an extraordinary range of Neolithic remains that have transformed our understanding of the period.
Pondering Penywyrlod: in search of the early origins of the Cotswold-Severn long cairn and barrow group
William Britnell (Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust) and Alasdair Whittle (Cardiff University), CA 395
Recent excavations and radiocarbon dating of Penywyrlod, a Neolithic long cairn in south-east Wales, have made us rethink our interpretations of monuments of this type.
At the edge of the world: exploring early medieval asceticism on the Skelligs
John Crowley and John Sheehan (Cork University Press), CA 398
Detailed research has shed vivid light on what early monastic life was like at the edge of the known world, and how amazing feats of architecture were constructed.
Rural Romanitas: rethinking the role of villas
Martin Henig (University of Oxford), Grahame Soffe, Kate Adcock, and Anthony King (Association for Roman Archaeology), CA 399
Bringing together evidence from across Britain, this impressive study has called into question previous assumptions about the purpose
of Roman villas, with intriguing results.
The bare bones: presenting a very regional Neolithic
Matt Ritchie (Forestry and Land Scotland), CA 401
Recent research has revealed fascinating new details about the people who built enigmatic communal megalithic funerary monuments on either side of the North Channel.
Archaeology on Prescription: using fieldwork to support York’s mental health provision
York Archaeology, CA 402
This pioneering initiative in York is using archaeology to improve the wellbeing of some of the city’s most vulnerable populations, while also uncovering archaeology dating back 2,000 years.
‘Tired beyond all telling’: revealing the hard, often brief, lives of pauper apprentices
Durham University, University of York, and Washburn Heritage Centre, CA 403
A churchyard excavation at Fewston in North Yorkshire has provided a rare look at a rural post-medieval population from the north of England, including the lives of children who worked in the nearby mills.
A monumental mystery: unpicking the evolution of Arthur’s Stone
The Arthur’s Stone Project, CA 404
Important new evidence, arising from three years of exavations at Arthur’s Stone, is allowing archaeologists to understand the intriguing evolution of this Neolithic monument in Herefordshire.
Voting has now closed
