The Archaeological Achievement Awards are a showcase for the best in UK archaeology and a central event in the archaeological calendar. Established in 1976, they now encompass five Awards and two discretionary awards, covering every aspect of UK archaeology.

The purpose of the Awards is to advance public education in the study and practice of archaeology in all its aspects in the United Kingdom, and in particular by the granting of awards for excellence and/or initiative.

The Awards are committed to recognising significant contributions to knowledge and the importance of research, professional standards and excellence, involvement of local communities in the study of archaeology, effective dissemination and presentation of archaeological knowledge, and innovation and originality of approach.

The BAA 2018 Short List has been released and the winners were announced at a ceremony in October 2018.

In the recent years, the charity was closed and taken over by the Council for British Archaeology (CBA). The awards will now celebrate archaeology from across the United Kingdom and the island of Ireland and the awards name has been updated to the Archaeological Achievement Awards to reflect this. Alongside the name change the award categories have been revised in order to better reflect the diverse work being undertaken by professional and volunteer archaeologists.