The Gwobr Archaeoleg Cambrian Archaeological Award
Each year the Cambrian Archaeological Association gives a prize for the most original contribution to the archaeology and/or history of Wales and the Marches by an Undergraduate or Master’s level dissertation. The Gwobr Archaeoleg Cambrian Archaeological Award (formerly the Blodwen Jerman Prize) is an opportunity for students and researchers, including those in continuing education, to share their research with the wider academic community and begin network building through the Association and its Members.
This prestigious prize was established in 1980 and over the years we have received a wide range of dissertations covering a breadth of topics and methodologies. In recent years we have particularly welcomed research that is innovative in its approach, and has the potential to be impactful not only to scholarship but also within the wider community.
Submissions can be made by the student, or their supervisor or department (N.B. there is no annual limit to the number of entries that can be made by a department). Dissertations should be dated from within the last two years. The deadline for submissions is the 30th November each year. Following this, submissions will be reviewed by a panel and the award will be announced in the summer or early autumn. The award winner will receive £300 in prize money and three years free membership of the CAA. An additional prize may be awarded at the discretion of the judges, for an undergraduate entry of exceptional quality that does not win the main prize, consisting of £100 and three years free membership of the CAA.
To make a submission please download and complete an entry form, available below as a PDF or a Word document, and email this together with a digital copy of the dissertation to Heather James, Secretary at: cambrians1846@gmail.com
Dissertation Entry Form in PDF format
Dissertation Entry Form in Word format
Any queries prior to submission should be addressed to Tudur Davies at cambrians1846@gmail.com
Main Prize Winner 2024 (Postgraduate): Hannah Lycett-Smith
The main Gwobr Archaeoleg Cambrian Archaeological Award (Postgraduate) for 2024 is awarded to Hannah Lycett-Smith for her accomplished and engaging MSc dissertation entitled: Dietary reconstruction in Early Medieval South Wales: a comparative analysis of microwear and dental calculus at Llandough Monastic Cemetery, Glamorgan. Hannah’s dissertation was written as part of her MSc Archaeological Science at Cardiff University.
“Receiving the Gwobr Archaeoleg Cambrian Archaeological Award has been an incredible experience. Seeing my research recognised as significant to Welsh archaeology has been incredibly rewarding. I am so pleased to have contributed to an archaeological subject which I love so much.”
Read more about Hannah’s journey into archaeology here.
Undergraduate Prize Winner 2024: Siân Evans
This year, the CAA also decided to award an Undergraduate prize to Siân Evans for her excellent dissertation entitled: A Lost Medieval Priory? St Mary’s Nefyn and its History. Siân’s dissertation was written as part of her BA in Medieval and Early Modern History at Bangor University.
Read more about Siân’s journey into history and archaeology here.
Previous prize winners
Prize Winner 2023: Sheridan Clements
“Receiving the Gwobr Archaeoleg Cambrian Archaeological Award means the world to me after gaining the confidence to not only move to the UK, but to also switch my topic to a less-considered, but equally fascinating aspect of prehistoric archaeology, not to mention the difficulties of altering and finishing the project with the advent of the pandemic. I am deeply encouraged by the recognition of my efforts to provide unique contributions to the field by such an institution as the Cambrian Archaeological Association!”
– Sheridan Clements, 2023
Read more about Sheridan here.
Prize Winner 2022: Dan Hunt
“Winning this award means the absolute world to me. I am shocked that my work has been recognised by such an esteemed Welsh institution. It is made even more special by the fact that the dissertation was completed at the height of the lockdown where libraries were closed and movement heavily limited. It has given me a huge, and much-needed, boost in my confidence both to work competently within the discipline as well as in myself as a whole.”
– Dan Hunt, 2022
Prize Winner 2007 – Dr Tudur Davies
“On gaining this prize I gained increased faith in my abilities, providing a degree of credibility in my own eyes to interact confidently with senior peers at conferences and other academic events. I have since discussed this with other prize winners who have shared similar experiences, demonstrating the value of this prize in encouraging early career scholars in their ventures into academia and the promotion of the study of Welsh archaeology.”
– Dr Tudur Davies (prize winner 2007)