We have had a wonderful selection of entries for this year’s photo competition, with archaeological images that have taken us all around the world. Travelling from famous heritage sites to unknown local monuments, and from the mountains and deserts to under the sea, the photos submitted for this year’s competition have reflected the many different ways we encounter the past. The competition was judged by archaeological photographer Adam Stanford, of SUMO Aerial-Cam, who cast his expert eye over the entries, and presented the winners in a video during the Current Archaeology online conference and awards ceremony.
This year’s overall winner is Martin Broen’s picture, titled ‘The Vase in the Flooded Cave’, depicting a diver exploring the archaeology of an underwater cave in the Sac Actun cave system, in the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico. Adam commented on his choice for CWA Photo of the Year 2022, ‘This amazing picture features a flooded cave in Mexico and a diver illuminating a pot, appearing to be suspended in mid-air, but of course he’s floating in the water that floods the cave.’
The three runners-up are presented below in alphabetical order.
First is Ahmed Samy Kassem’s photo, ‘The Middle Pyramid in Giza’, which Adam described as ‘a very nicely timed photograph with two carts heading into the view of the pyramid, almost appearing as if they’re going to crash into each other, but a very nicely timed shot.’
Aung Chan Thar’s photo, ‘Morning in Bagan’, was another of the photos selected by Adam. He called it ‘a really nicely composed photograph, with the monks lining up and some people taking some alms in the morning, very nicely lit.’
The final runner-up is Mehmet Yilmaz’s photo of the Agora at İzmir, in Turkey. Our judge remarked, ‘this is a very interesting photograph in that it’s a bit of an illusion, because it’s from the agora in İzmir and… it shows the pillars and the monument there, the remains of the architecture, but it’s all reflected in water and so in actual fact, the picture is upside down, but when you turn it around it all appears to be in the right place.’
Congratulations to the winners, and thank you to all who entered; we’ve loved seeing your work.
