Archaeological Research Services Ltd is thrilled to reveal that we have been nominated for Current Archaeology’s Rescue Project of the Year 2024 for “Ponteland’s prehistoric past: tracing life and death on the edge of the Northumberland Coastal Plain”!
The nomination is for our exciting archaeological excavations at Ponteland School and Leisure Centre in Northumberland (see below) and we are delighted to see this multiperiod site get the recognition it deserves.
Voting is now open and available to everyone at www.archaeology.co.uk/vote – so please click and vote for us!
How long will voting remain open?
Voting will remain open until early February 2024. The winners will then be announced at the Current Archaeology Live! 2024 conference on 24 February. Further information can be found here: www.archaeology.co.uk/live.
About our award-nominated Ponteland archaeological rescue project
In 2019 Archaeological Research Services Ltd carried out archaeological excavations of a prehistoric ring ditch and enclosure at Ponteland School and Leisure Centre, 10km north-west of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in advance of upgrading the Centre and its facilities on behalf of Kier Group plc.
The excavations revealed a rare Early Neolithic post-built structure, an Early Bronze Age ring ditch monument associated with the incremental burial of four inhumations, two having cremated human remains of an individual placed over their feet. One inhumation was accompanied by a copper alloy dagger and another by a Food Vessel. Two individuals, both females, appear to have been killed by blows to the head. Activity in the Iron Age and, potentially, Roman period included a rectilinear enclosure constructed around the earlier monument which was extended and reconfigured, possibly for livestock management or as a ceremonial space.
For more details about the site, see our Ponteland project pages. There is also an upcoming article in Archaeologia Aeliana entitled: “Archaeological excavation at Ponteland School and Leisure Centre, Ponteland, Northumberland”. Plus you can find our Current Archaeology article entitled “Ponteland’s prehistoric past: tracing life and death on the edge of the Northumberland Coastal Plain” in the June 2023 edition of Current Archaeology here.
Vote now!
Please help us win this prestigious award by voting online for us under ‘Rescue Project of the Year’ here:
www.archaeology.co.uk/vote