EUROPEAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL HERITAGE PRIZE 2015

The17th European Archaeological Heritage Prize has been awarded to María Ángeles Querol Fernández for her pioneering, persistent and ongoing achievements within three main areas: development of archaeology as an academic discipline at Spanish universities, reformation and decentralization of the Spanish heritage administration, and development of high ethical standards for archaeological practice; and Martin Oswald Hugh Carver in recognition of his significant and ongoing contributions in combining field archaeology and research with inspiring approaches to the understanding of our practice as a service to the society.


María Ángeles Querol Fernández chaired the Professional Association of Spanish Archaeologists (APAE) between 1984-1994. Under her leadership, the Association introduced a set of ethical codes of conduct for the profession. Querol Fernández held the post of Subdirectora General de Arqueología at the Ministry of Culture between 1985-1988. This was then the highest post within the Spanish archaeological heritage administration, and for the first time it was held by a woman. From this position she led the important decentralization and transfer of the administrative authority to the regional governments. Later (1997-2000) Querol Fernández headed one of the new regional agencies, the Andalusian Commission of Archaeology. In that capacity she introduced rules to secure the impartiality of the commission and a high standard of scientific quality and accountability in the archaeological investigations. Overlapping with this responsibility, Querol Fernández again as the first woman took over as Director of the Prehistory Department at the Complutense University of Madrid (1994-2002).

Querol Fernández has thus established herself as a leading figure within Spanish archaeology and heritage management. She is offering an important contribution to the understanding of what archaeology and heritage management should be doing as a visible and valuable social and democratic practice.

Through her wide spanning career and through her generous writings in the field of heritage management and archaeology Querol Fernández has significantly contributed to bringing Spanish archaeology to the forefront of European archaeology, setting important standards for others to draw inspiration from.

 

Martin Oswald Hugh Carver is one of the leading field archaeologists and most distinguished academics in Britain. He stands out from his contemporaries because he had a long and successful period working in applied archaeology prior to becoming an academic. Consequently, he occupies a unique position in being at the technical forefront of field methods, having deep experience of the commercial aspects of archaeology and being a leading authority on the early Middle Ages of Britain.

He has set up two archaeological companies, linked to universities, first in Birmingham and then in York, when he took up the Chair of Archaeology there. He was one of the leading forces behind the foundation of the Institute of Field Archaeology, now Institute for Archaeologists, and was the first secretary for the Institute. He retains a keen interest in field methodology and has written important textbooks on archaeological practice.

Although best known for his work in Britain, he has also worked in France, Italy and Algeria. He is particularly known for his excavations at Sutton Hoo, which he undertook for the British Museum and the Society of Antiquaries.

In a Scottish context, his work at the Pictish monastery at Portmahomack Tarbat, Easter Ross, Scotland, has been equally revolutionary.

His engagement with the wider international world is evident is his long association with the Medieval Europe Research Committee, and as a long-time editor of the world archaeology journal Antiquity. Publications such as The Cross Goes North: Processes of Conversion in Northern Europe, AD 300-1300, which he edited, and his contribution to the series Archaeology of Medieval Europe evidence his pan-European perspective.

Martin Carver is well known for his support and encouragement to younger colleagues.  He is contributing to the promotion of archaeology through the media, and to its self-reflection and development through his publications.

Through these contributions, and many others, Martin Carver stands out as a leading figure in the ongoing development of archaeology as a dynamic and self-conscious discipline, embedded in our contemporary society.