Participants in the 2011-12 Discovery Days were invited to enter a photography competition on the theme of ‘Discovering the Past Around Us’. The idea was to photograph a trace of the past still found in the places, things and people around us today and participants were asked to briefly describe what was shown in their photograph and explain why it made them think of bygone times in a new and different light. Submissions were judged in two categories: camera and camera phone, and the winning entries for each category are shown below.
Bourn Tumuli (Winner of Camera Category)
Owen Mellors Bourne (Year 9 – Comberton Village College)
“This photograph shows one of the Tumuli in Bourn. I chose to take this photo because it also shows the village of Bourn in the distance in the distance, with the church on the skyline. Although the church itself is old (approximately 800 years) the Tumuli are much older. Nobody is really sure how old they are, but when they were excavated the one in this photo had a coin inside of it dating from Marcus Aurelius’ reign (AD140-180). Human and Animal bones were also found. I enjoy thinking about the mystery of them and how they have been in question for nearly 2000 years. I especially like thinking about the fact that people have stood in the same spot as me, but looked out at a very different view, and that centuries’ worth of history is right under my feet.”
The judges were very impressed with the composition of the photograph showing the tumuli in the foreground of the modern day village of Bourn, and thought that the lighting and shadow showed the tumuli to dramatic effect. In addition, Owen’s accompanying description showed original thought and insight which perfectly understood the theme of the competition.
Coins (Winner of Camera Phone Category)
Lily Sandhu (Year 8 – Robert Bloomfield Academy)
“Two of the coins pictured have King George III on them and are dated 1790. They are in fact brass copies of the gold coins. They were used in card games and board games. So they are not the actual gold guineas, but do have a value of between £5-25.The other coin pictured has an image of king George III and is an imitation known as a spade guinea, again used for gaming purposes. The name J.Sainsbury is embossed for advertising purposes.”
The judges were very impressed with the detail captured in the close-up of the coins in the photograph, especially being able to read the embossed lettering. Lily successfully minimised any shadow and the plain background creates great contrast against the brass coins. In addition, her accompanying description showed excellent research into what the coins were and it is interesting to note that they were used as gaming tokens.
We will be resuming archaeological Discovery Days again next autumn. Details will appear on our website nearer the time.
Access Cambridge Archaeology 