Over the past weekend a handful of Ecus archaeologists participated in the annual Winckelmann Cup football tournament, representing Mam Tor Town FC.
The team consisted of archaeologists from a range of companies based in and around Sheffield, who have worked with each other on a variety of sites over the past couple of years. We even have our own Instagram you can check out.
Who was Johann Joachim Winckelmann?
The cup was founded in 1991 and it is named after German archaeologist, Johan Joachim Winckelmann (1717–1768). Winckelmann was a pioneer of modern archaeology and art history, an established homosexual, and was ultimately murdered by an associate while staying in a hotel in Trieste.
What is the Winckelmann cup?
The Winckelmann Cup is now the most famous sporting event for European archaeologists. Some teams have seen many successive generations of students taking part. Each year, new teams participate from all over Europe, representing archaeological companies, faculties and departments from across Europe.
Each year, hundreds of archaeologists, including students and professionals in cultural heritage, meet on the pitch for a fun-filled weekend. The cup is not just a football tournament; it is a chance for participants to discover the culture, the heritage and the traditions of the host city and country, and a European event for archaeologists to meet new and old friends.
This tournament this year was hosted by Oxford Archaeology, and consisted of 49 teams from across Europe.
Our tournament
Our group consisted of 5 teams and four games (as N40 TA CHT dropped out), against Festung Tübingen, Erlanger Erdferkel, Gladiatores Trior and Cardiff Dragons. With the following scores allowing a respectable 3rd place finish in the group.
- Mam Tor Town 3-0 Erlanger Erdferkel
- Mam Tor Town 0-1 Festung Tübingen
- Mam Tor Town 0-7 Gladiatores Trier
- Mam Tor Town 1-0 Cardiff Dragons
The following day we played three placement games against Athletic Biltrowel, Oxford Bierbarians and MARS VLTOR München, which culminated in a final overall placement of 21st following the below scores:
- Athletic Biltrowel 1- 1 Mam Tor Town (2-0) win for Athletic Biltrowel on penalties
- Mam Tor Town 2-0 Oxford Bierbarians
- MARS VLTOR München 0-0 Mam Tor Town (4-3) win for Mam Tor Town on penalties
Overview
The team was very happy with finishing the tournament 21st overall, not bad for a debut after all! The real value of the Winckelmann cup is meeting fellow workers in the field of heritage from across Europe. This year for example, Sheffield and Bochum based teams exchanged presents and drinks as they are twin cities (hence the naming of Bochum Parkway in Sheffield).
Every member of Mam Tor Town would like to thank Oxford for hosting the brilliant tournament, and to all the teams who took part from all over Europe. With rumors that the cup is being hosted in Lyon next year, we hope to see everyone again in the French alps!
