BA Roman Archaeology Dissertation Prize

2012 Prize

The Roman Society is pleased to announce that the winner of the prize for the best undergraduate dissertation in the field of Roman Archaeology submitted in 2010/11, is Mark Blagg-Newsome from the University of Reading

Mark's dissertation, The Zooarchaeology of Calleva Atrebatum, Early Second Century to Fifth Century AD: The Ritualisation of Wild Mammal and Bird Deposits, or Pragmatic Deposition?, examined the faunal remains of wild animals and birds from the Insula IX excavations in Silchester, comparing these with other assemblages from Silchester as well as a number of other sites in southern Roman Britain. The result of this work leads to the conclusions that, while some animals such as deer, hare, goose and duck were consumed for food, the peculiar deposition practices associated with ravens and possibly badgers indicates that these animals were treated differently to other animals, possibly because they were believed to hold special religious or ritual significance. The judges felt that Mark has demonstrated an excellent capacity for spatial and statistical analysis leading to some thought-provoking insights into the uses of wild animals in Roman Britain.

The prize will be presented in Frankfurt at the Roman Archaeology Conference (28 March-1 April).

2010 Prize

The Roman Society is pleased to announce that the winner of the Centenary Prize for the best undergraduate dissertation in the field of Roman Archaeology submitted in 2008/9, is Rebecca Blackburn from the University of Reading.

Click here to see the abstract for Rebecca's dissertation.