The winners’ areas of study are vast, from the birth of democracy in India, to the underground archive that Jews kept in the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II and the bones of Vikings found in Britain.
“To decode the complexities of the present and face future challenges, we need to first of all better understand our past,” said Ariel David, a board member of the prize and the son of its founder, Romanian businessman Dan David. “By using innovative methods and source materials, our winners have offered us precious new historical insight.”
Blain’s research focuses on the roles working-class Black women played in the U.S. civil rights movement. Jarman uses scientific techniques such as carbon dating and DNA analysis to tell stories about groups like the Viking armies and English kings.