Professor David Jacques wins Current Archaeology award for the Best Research Project of the Year

University of Buckingham archaeologist Professor David Jacques has won the most prestigious archaeology award in the country for his pioneering work at Stonehenge.

He received the largest number of votes in the annual Current Archaeology award for the Best Research Project of the Year.

The excavations at Blick Mead, about a mile from the ancient monument, have provided a plethora of information about life in Mesolithic Britain, including evidence of meeting and feasting practices, but archaeologists have also discovered evidence for the transition into a more Neolithic way of life.

Recently, The University of Buckingham team has expressed concerns that current plans for the Stonehenge tunnel could adversely affect the historic environment and reduce the water table at Blick Mead, destroying its rare organic remains.

Professor Jacques said: “I want to thank Current Archaeology, who were the first to notice Blick Mead and its significance in terms of revealing the story behind Stonehenge. I’d also like to thank the University for their support and everyone who voted for us. This is a real David and Goliath battle – for the award we were up against large universities and it’s incredible that one of the country’s smallest has won the award.

“It is absolutely vital that the tunnel doesn’t go ahead. If it does, we may never be able to piece together the fragments which are gradually revealing possible reasons behind the construction of Stonehenge.”

Professor Jacques runs an archaeology MA which incorporates a two-week dig at Stonehenge unearthing vital evidence that has helped uncover details of the history of Stonehenge.

So far the digs, which he has been running for a decade, have uncovered the oldest “eco” house in the Stonehenge landscape – an upturned tree used as a home, evidence of the worlds’ oldest cooked frogs’ legs (bones) and the longest continuous period of occupation following the Ice Age anywhere in Britain.

Find out more about the Archaeology MA.