Young Archaeologists Of Year Named In Belfast

Those YACs have been at it again. While the rest of us spent the summer trying to do as little as possible, members of Young Archaeologist Clubs (YACs) were pacing out henges, measuring ditches and trying to get inside the minds of prehistoric builders.

Why all the hard work? Read on...

The triumphant winners! (Plus some TV archaeologists muscling into the pic there..) © YAC.

The challenge set for this year's YAC Award was to design a prehistoric monument. Designs had to make use of materials, tools and methods that were available to people who lived in prehistoric times.

To find out what 'prehistory' means and to see some of the monuments left behind in Britain by prehistoric people, take a look at the Show Me… Prehistory Trail.

Here's Phil in his famous hat.

© Time Team.

The winners of this year's competition were - insert imaginary drum roll here - Bethany Smith and Christopher Cannell! They are now officially 'Young Archaeologists of the Year 2004'.

Click on the following links to see Bethany's design and Christopher's design and read the stories behind them.

Phil Harding (he who wears a splendiferous hat), the archaeologist from Time Team, judged the competition. He was very impressed by the entries and said 'I would extend congratulations to all finalists and I genuinely regret that there can't be more winners.'

Chris and Phil are having a breather on one of their field trips in this pic.

© YAC.

Bethany and Christopher were given their prizes at a special ceremony in Belfast on Friday, as part of the British Archaeological Awards.

They not only got to meet Phil Harding, but also Julian Richards, judge of the 2003 awards, and Francis Pryor, presenter of Britain AD. After the ceremony on Friday night, Bethany and Christopher had an action-packed weekend of events organised just for them.

The lucky duo visited several sites in and around Belfast, made a prehistoric-style pot and even worked with Julian Richards and local YAC members on a mock TV documentary called 'Digging up dead people'.

Proof that archaeologists scrub up pretty well sometimes - here's Francis Pryor with Bethany and her award certificate.

© YAC.

Bethany said the best thing about the weekend was 'meeting all the famous archaeologists' and that winning the award made her feel special. Christopher has plans to become an archaeologist when he grows up, so really enjoyed meeting a few of them in the flesh.

If you're interested in archaeology and aged between 8 and 16 why not join the Young Archaeologists Club? You get to meet other kids with the same interests and join in all sorts of archaeological activities, from local digs to residential holidays.

Here's Bethany looking at a find on one of the days out.

© YAC.

Keep an eye out on Show Me for next year's competition too - you never know, we could be reporting on your win next time.

Most importantly, despite the evidence of these pictures, you don't need a grizzly beard or lots of hair to be a famous archaeologist!