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UCL Institute of Archaeology Annual News Round-Up

Issue 2024

We would like to wish all our UCL Institute of Archaeology (IoA) and Archaeology South-East (ASE) friends and colleagues, past and current staff and students, Season’s Greetings and all best wishes for 2025.

This year we welcomed a number of new academic, research and PS colleagues (see our staff pages for details) and also said goodbye to colleagues whose posts with us had come to an end or who wished to explore new avenues. We particularly want to note Sandra Bond's dedication and sterling contribution to the IoA over many years, we will miss her greatly and wish her all the best for the future.

Here are some IoA and ASE news stories from 2024. For full details of all our news, events and activities, please continue to visit the IoA and ASE websites and follow us on social media.

UCL Institute of Archaeology 3rd in the world

The UCL Institute of Archaeology has been ranked 3rd in the world in the QS World University Rankings by Subject for 2024.

QS World University Ranking 2024 infographic - image of a portico building with a colourful welcome banner displayed and lots of people in the foreground

The QS World University Rankings by Subject are compiled annually to help prospective students identify the leading universities in a particular subject. The IoA's degree programmes offer an unrivalled variety of course options, both theoretical and practical, covering diverse archaeological topics, as well as wide-ranging fieldwork opportunities.

Largest known prehistoric rock engravings discovered in South America

Two researchers inspect the large etchings on the side of a rocky cliff (Image: Phil Riris)

A new study by an international team including Jose Oliver has revealed a series of ancient South American engravings thought to be the largest prehistoric rock art in the world. Read more about this discovery»
Image: © Phil Riris

Revealing Roman Britain: the Worcestershire Conquest hoard

Selection of coins from the Worcestershire Conquest Hoard © Museums Worcestershire (a large selection of silver coins on a black background)

Murray Andrews is studying one of the largest ever coin hoards dating to the Roman Conquest of Britain, which was recently found in west Worcestershire. Read more about this new discovery»
Image: Selection of coins from the Worcestershire Conquest Hoard © Museums Worcestershire

Major ancient migration to Timor Island uncovered

Front and side images of lithic cutting blades (stone artefacts) excavated in East Timor

Collaborative research led by Ceri Shipton indicates that humans first reached the island of Timor in large numbers, challenging previous understanding of how ancient people migrated from Southeast Asia to Australia. Read more about this new study»
Image: © Ceri Shipton

Digital preservation of Welwyn Roman Baths

A man taking photographs in a historic site/museum location with grey coloured stone work

Kris Lockyear and Antonio Reis have created a digital 3D model of Welwyn Roman Baths to help preserve the archaeology on the site. Read more about this innovative project»
Image: © Kris Lockyear

Selected nominations, awards, appointments and opportunities

Current Archaeology Awards Collaborative research involving Rob Ixer, on the Stonehenge Altar Stone has been nominated for Research Project of the Year.	Britannia Award for Community Archaeology Geophysics Group The Community Archaeology Geophysics Group was presented with the prestigious Britannia Award by the Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies.
Murray Andrews appointed to Herefordshire Museum Curatorial Advisory Panel Murray Andrews has been appointed as an expert member of the Herefordshire Museum Service’s Curatorial Advisory Panel to advise on parts of the £21.7m redevelopment of Hereford Museum and Art Gallery.	Sara Perry appointed to REF2029 Advisory Panel Sara Perry, who joined us from MOLA in June 2024, has been appointed to the REF2029 Research Diversity Advisory Panel (RDAP) which will develop strategies to support the equitable recognition of diverse forms of research within REF 2029 development, delivery and assessment. Read more about Sara and her work on UCL's Research Spotlight.
Antiquity Prize 2024 awarded to research on the Islamic green revolution A collaborative research article co-authored by Corisande Fenwick on Re-thinking the ‘Green Revolution' in the Mediterranean world has been awarded the Antiquity prize for 2024.	Pilkington Award for IoA alumna Laura Adlington was named as the sixth winner of the Society of Glass Technology’s Pilkington Award.
IoA alumna awarded Zibby Garnett Travel Fellowship Luna Silvestri was awarded a Zibby Garnett Travel Fellowship to help broaden her understanding of conservation worldwide.	Applications open for Laidlaw Scholar opportunity Announcing an opportunity for first-year Archaeology undergraduate students to apply to become a Laidlaw Scholar.
TREE-DLA PhD projects available Funded PhD studentship projects are offered by the UCL Institute of Archaeology as part of the new TREES Doctoral Landscape Award (DLA) programme. The deadline for applications is 20 January 2025.	British Academy International Fellowships The UCL Institute of Archaeology is supporting applications for British Academy International Fellowships. The deadline for applications for internal review is 31 January 2025.
Advancing Access to UCL Archaeological Collections The UCL Institute of Archaeology has been awarded UKRI funding from the AHRC’s Research Infrastructure for Conservation and Heritage Science (RICHeS) programme.	Milking It Johanna Zetterstrom Sharp, in collaboration with the University of Oxford, has been awarded AHRC funding to investigate colonialism, heritage and everyday engagement with dairy.
Empowering Action for Climate A UCL Institute of Archaeology-based team, led by Rodney Harrison, has been awarded AHRC funding for capacity-building activities to support climate action in collections-based institutions in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs).	Following the fish Clara Boulanger has been awarded a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship at the UCL Institute of Archaeology to undertake research on human dispersals through Island Southeast Asia.
New exhibition on Creole Origins The exhibition Creole Origins: Cane River Diasporas, 1770-1830, curated by Kevin MacDonald with Paige Brevick (UCL) and Rebecca Blankenbaker (Cane River National Heritage Area), opened in November. Image: Reconstruction drawing of Pierre Metoyer Plantation c.1790 (© Lauren Gibson, ASE)	Tikuna tree bark and identity in the Amazon Renata Peters is leading collaborative fieldwork in the Brazilian Amazon as part of research funded by the Endangered Material Knowledge Programme (British Museum). Image: Francisco Fidelis Ramos paints a tururi sheet using natural pigments and brushes (© Renata Peters)

Documentation and preservation of Central Asian heritage

A man walking in a desert environment towards an archaeological site/structure in the distance

The charitable fund Arcadia is supporting a UCL Institute of Archaeology-led team on the CAAL project to extend its documentation of archaeological heritage sites in Central Asia until 2028.
Image: Central Asian Archaeology and Heritage (© UCL, CAAL and the International Institute for Central Asian Studies).

Selected ASE News

Archaeology South-East celebrates 50th anniversary

April 2024 saw Archaeology South-East (ASE) turn 50! The Sussex Archaeological Field Unit, as it was known then, was established half a century ago, back in April 1974.

Save the date - ASE will mark the end of its golden jubilee year with a one-day conference on Saturday 5 April 2025. All welcome! Tickets now available. Further details and booking for the ASE 50th Anniversary conference.
Image: © ASE

Sussex’s First World War soldiers ASE archaeologists have been excavating the site of a former WW1 training camp in Bexhill in a project involving the local community. Image © ASE	UCL archaeologists joining the National Trust on #Bodiam100 UCL archaeologists have joined excavations at Bodiam Castle exploring the castle’s buried archaeology in the lead-up to its 100th anniversary in the care of the National Trust (2026). Bodiam Castle, Image © National Trust Images/Chris Lacey
IoA students begin ASE placement year Five students have joined Archaeology South-East this term, as part of their BA Archaeology with a Placement Year. Find out more about what they have been up to! Image © ASE	Reflections on CIfA conference 2024 Each year ASE placement students are supported to attend CIfA’s annual conference. Sol Whitehouse reflects on his CIfA conference experience in April 2024, which had a theme of ‘legacy.' Image © ASE