Scheme website and the Staffordshire Hoard are shortlisted for BAA 2010

Date Published: Monday 14th June 2010 Author: Daniel Pett

Today it was announced that two Scheme projects have been shortlisted in the prestigious British Archaeological Awards, which are sponsored by the Robert Kiln Trust. Over the last 18 months, the Scheme's ICT Adviser has rebuilt and relaunched a new website and database to record public discovery of archaeological objects. This was relaunched on the 24th March 2010 and was nominated for the awards in the 'best archaeological innovation' category.

The second Scheme project to be entered into these awards was the discovery of the Staffordshire Hoard, which was announced on September 24th 2009. This has been entered into the 'best archaeological discovery' category. The work on the Hoard has already been honoured at the Current Archaeology Conference 2010, with an award in the category for 'best archaeological rescue dig'.

Good luck to all nominees and hopefully the awards will gain publicity for the CBA's Festival of British Archaeology when the award winners are announced on July 19th at the British Museum.

Below follows the statement from the award's organisers.

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The Trustees of the British Archaeological Awards are delighted to announce the short list of nominations for the six individual Awards which make up the 2010 British Archaeological Awards.

Established in 1976, the British Archaeological Awards are a showcase for the best in British archaeology and a central event in the archaeological calendar.

The winners of the six Awards will be announced at the 2010 Awards ceremony which will take place on 19 July at the British Museum, hosted by historian and broadcaster Michael Wood. The ceremony will be a major event within the Council for British Archaeology’s Festival of British Archaeology, a huge UK-wide celebration of archaeology with more than 650 events attended by more than 250,000 people, which attracts huge national TV, radio, newspaper and magazine coverage.

The Chairman of the British Archaeological Awards trustees, Dr Mike Heyworth MBE, said:

“The wide-ranging nominations for the 2010 British Archaeological Awards demonstrate the high standard of work going on in archaeology across the United Kingdom. There is huge public interest in archaeology and increasing opportunities for everyone to get involved in archaeological projects in their area. We congratulate all the nominated projects and look forward to a lively ceremony in July when the winners of the Awards will be announced.”

The short list of nominations for the six Awards are as follows:

Best Archaeological Project:

Archaeology of Inchmarnock Research Project
Mellor Heritage Project 2007-9
The Tarbat Discovery Programme

Best Community Archaeology Project:

“Discover the Lost Bishop’s Palace” – Wisbech Castle Community Archaeology Project
Fin Cop – Solving a Derbyshire Mystery
Mellor Heritage Project 2007-9

Best Archaeological Book:

“Britain’s Oldest Art: The Ice Age Cave Art of Creswell Crags” by Paul Bahn & Paul Pettitt
“Europe’s Lost World: the re-discovery of Doggerland” by Vince Gaffney, Simon Fitch & David Smith
“The Rose and The Globe, playhouses of Shakespeare’s Bankside, Southwark: Excavations 1988-1991” by Julian Bowsher & Pat Miller

Best Representation of Archaeology in the Media:

Tinderbox Productions for BBC Radio 4: In Pursuit of Treasure & The Voices Who Dug Up The Past
Time Team Series 16, Episode 5: Blood, Sweat & Beers – Risehill, North Yorks
The Thames Discovery Programme web site (www.thamesdiscovery.org)

Best Archaeological Innovation:

Integrated Archaeological Database (IADB: www.iadb.org.uk)
Lindow Man: a Bog Body Mystery Exhibition at the Manchester Museum (April 2008-April 2009)
The Portable Antiquities Scheme web site (www.finds.org.uk)