This year’s winner of the Book of the Year award is Shakespeare’s London Theatreland by Julian Bowsher.

Julian Bowsher (middle) receives his award from Clare Litt of Oxbow Books (left), and Matt Symonds (right), Editor of Current Archaeology.
A lively and popular guide to 16th-17th century London’s creative heartland, this book explores all the main performance venues of the period, drawing on excavations both old and new, from the Globe and the Rose to the recently rediscovered Curtain Theatre.
On receiving the award, Julian Bowsher said: ‘This award reflects the fact that Shakespeare and archaeology are two big subjects that the British public love. Shakespearean archaeology is a fantastic field, illuminating not just his life, but the theatres he worked in, and the lives of the actors who performed his plays, and there is a lot more to uncover for more years to come.
‘This award is an important accolade for Post-Medieval archaeology, and a testament to the hard work of a whole team of people at MOLA; archaeologists, finds specialists, illustrators, designers and editors.’

Award sponsored by Oxbow Books
Below are all the nominees in this category:
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A Roman Frontier Post and its People: Newstead 1911-2011
(Fraser Hunter and Lawrence Keppie, CA 277) Published to mark the centenary of James Curle’s game-changing excavation report on Newstead, this compilation of papers by respected frontier scholars seeks to place the Roman fort in the widest possible context, and to further debate about a landmark site. |
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The Romano-British Peasant
(Mike McCarthy, CA 281) This interdisciplinary study brings life at the bottom of the Romano-British pecking order vividly to life. The author’s comparisons with the experience of Medieval peasants may be controversial, but this is a thought-provoking survey sure to stimulate valuable debate. |
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Men from the Ministry: how Britain saved its heritage
(Simon Thurley, CA 282) Published in the midst of dramatic change for English Heritage, this timely book explores both how state protection for the historic environment and the magnificent open-air museum that is the National Heritage Collection have evolved — and why it is important. |
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Shakespeare’s London Theatreland
(Julian Bowsher, CA 282) A lively and popular guide to 16th- and 17th-century London’s creative heartland, this book explores all the main performance venues of the period, drawing on excavations both old and new, from the Globe and the Rose to the recently rediscovered Curtain Theatre. |
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Under Another sky: journeys in Roman Britain
(Charlotte Higgins, CA 283) This charming, Bill Brysonesque tour of Roman Britain seamlessly crosses the road-trip and popular history genres. Well-researched and often amusing, it offers a whimsical look at our Roman heritage. |
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Ancestral Journeys: the peopling of Europe from the first venturers to the Vikings
(Jean Manco, CA 285) A wide-ranging exploration of the ever-shifting kaleidoscope that is the European gene pool, tracing waves of migrants from the first modern humans to Viking colonists. This is a skilful synthesis of the latest genetic research, combined with linguistics, archaeology, and climate studies. |
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