04 March 2010
Archaeologist, Brendon Wilkins of Headland Archaeology (Ireland) Ltd. was among the honours list when he scooped second prize at the recent British Heritage Research Awards in London.
The awards, which encourage researchers to present their research on British and Irish archaeology, historic buildings, and heritage conservation, to the wider public, were hosted by Current Archaeology Magazine and the Portable Antiquities Scheme as part of the Archaeology 2010 Conference at the British Museum in London. Dr. Julian Richards, writer, broadcaster, and presenter of BBC's "Meet the Ancestors" was on hand to present the awards to the winners.
Wilkins' presentation, entitled "Recently Reported Road Deaths on the N6: 3500 BC to 1500 AD", was a study of work he undertook on various cemetery sites excavated by Headland Archaeology (Ireland) Ltd. on behalf of the NRA and Galway County Council, as part of the N6 Galway to Ballinasloe road scheme. Up against a field of ten of Britain's leading archaeologists, Wilkins was narrowly pipped at the post, to give him second place. Chris Yates of the Southwest Maritime Archaeology Group, who spoke to the assembled crowd about "Bronze Age Trade in Copper - Evidence from a Maritime Environment" was the overall winner of the competition.
Speaking at the awards, Wilkins said "This has been a phenomenally exciting project to work on. Over the last 10 years Ireland has been leading the world in both the quantity and quality of the archaeological work undertaken - a rarely acknowledged benefit of the construction boom. This has been a team effort from Headland, and it's an international endorsement of the calibre of our work."
Jonathan Millar, Graphics Manager, Headland Archaeology (Ireland) Ltd., who worked on all the graphic elements of the presentation, and attended the conference with Wilkins said: "Headland Archaeology saw this as an excellent opportunity to deliver some of the wealth of archaeological information we have gathered over the years back to the general public. We are delighted with the award and would love an opportunity to compete in a similar event in Ireland."
Headland Archaeology (Ireland) Ltd. is part of the Headland Group, one of the largest commercial archaeology companies in Europe. The Headland Group has offices throughout Ireland and the UK, and provides archaeological services to the development sector. For further information about their services visit www.headlandarchaeology.com.
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