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 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.
Click here for links to all the awards categories.
Sponsor of Research Project of the Year 2025
The Klein Hollandia: discovering a 17th-century Dutch warship off Eastbourne
Nautical Archaeology Society/The Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE)/Historic England, CA 406
When a previously unknown shipwreck was discovered off the Sussex coast in 2015, it sparked a wide-ranging project to piece together the clues to its identity, as well an innovative initiative to protect the historic remains.
From the Caucasus to Cambridgeshire: retracing the story of Offord Cluny’s ‘Sarmatian’ burial
MOLA Headland Infrastructure/Durham University/Francis Crick Institute, CA 408
History tells us that thousands of Sarmatian warriors from the Caucasus were forcibly brought to Britain after their defeat by Marcus Aurelius in AD 175, but evidence of their presence here has been fleeting – until now.
Excavations over the White Cliffs of Dover: uncovering the Second World War story of Fan Bay and its surroundings
National Trust/Wanstone Rediscovered Project, CA 412
Second World War defences being explored by the Wanstone Rediscovered Project trace the important military history of the area.
Signs of the tines: tracing Viking Age comb production in Ipswich
Ian Riddler and Nicola Trzaska-Nartowski, CA 413
A major new work exploring the evolution of one early medieval industry in Ipswich has helped to transform our understanding of the craft, as well as revealing some Scandinavian surprises.
Building Roman Cirencester and beyond: Roman tile production in the north Wiltshire countryside
Cotswold Archaeology, CA 413
Investigations led by Cotswold Archaeology have revealed the impressively far reach of a Roman tile-making centre during community excavations near the village of Minety.
Underground, overground: excavating an Iron Age fogou and Romano-British remains at Boden
Meneage Archaeology Group, CA 414
A long-running community dig in south Cornwall has been exploring a network of Iron Age tunnels, Bronze Age roundhouses, and unusual Romano-British activity in the area.
Unearthing ancient Tweeddale: ‘Merlin’s Grave’ and other lost stories embedded in the landscape
GUARD Archaeology/Arthur Trail Association, CA 415
A community archaeology project in the Scottish Borders sought to explore Drumelzier’s legendary links, and illuminated the area’s Iron Age and early medieval past in the process.
Pioneering spirit: exploring the archaeology and history of The Glenlivet whisky
Pioneering Spirit Project (National Trust for Scotland/The Glenlivet), CA 416
Excavations in the Scottish Highlands have revealed the story of the industrialisation of whisky production during the 19th-century.
Seeking a Scottish source: updating the story of Stonehenge’s Altar Stone
R Bevins, A Clarke, S Glorie, S Hillier, R Ixer, C Kirkland, N Pearce, D Pirrie, P Turner CA 415/417
Cutting-edge scientific research indicates that a stone at the centre of Stonehenge may have travelled hundreds of miles from the Orcadian Basin of north-east Scotland to Salisbury Plain – and recent fieldwork in Orkney itself has narrowed this search further.
Voting has now closed
