Danielle Bradford, 21, was being honoured at the Marsh Archaeology Awards in London on November 22 when she said she was driven to tears by laughing in the audience from a 'large group of older men'

A young Cambridge University academic, given an award for researching sexual harassment during fieldwork, says she was laughed at for her work by a 'large group of older men.'

Danielle Bradford, 21, was being honoured at the Marsh Archaeology Awards in London on November 22 when she said she was driven to tears by the laughing in the audience.

'As I was being introduced, they said 'she's been researching sexual harassment in archaeology', to which a large group of older men laughed. Fully laughed - to the point that the presenter had to say 'it isn't funny'.

Ms Bradford is researching sexual misconduct that occurs during archaeological fieldwork.

In a thread on Twitter, Ms Bradford expressed her shock at what had happened during the event.

'Tonight I got off my flight from Seattle to London & went straight to an archaeology awards ceremony. I was excited - I've never been nominated for a research award before! But the evening ended in lots of tears, and highlighted to me how far the discipline has to come,' she began.

In a thread on Twitter, Ms Bradford expressed her shock at what had happened during the event

She then went on to talk about the group of older men laughing before saying the presenter intervened and commented that it wasn't funny.

'I managed to go up and get my certificate, but as soon as I sat back down I burst into tears. In front of a hall full of people. It was humiliating. This is exactly the kind of toxic culture in arc that drives out ERCs and, ironically, fosters sexual harassment,' she continued.

'Even if you take out the subject matter, imagine being 21, just out of undergrad, shortlisted for your first research award and... a group of people decide its acceptable to publicly *laugh* at that research.

'Even if you take out the subject matter, imagine being 21, just out of undergrad, shortlisted for your first research award and... a group of people decide its acceptable to publicly *laugh* at that research,' she said

'I know that my research has not always been taken seriously. I know this. What I was surprised at was the fact that these people were so f***ing open about it that they laughed in front of a room of their colleagues, at a young woman.

'Afterwards, when I couldn't go up for the pictures because I was still crying, a number of older women came up to me. They all said very similar things:

'I've been in the field for X years. It's about time someone is taking about this. Thank you.

'So I guess, tonight it was brought home both why this research can be so damn hard at times, and why it’s worth it,' she concluded.

According to Ms Bradford The Council for British Archaeology (CBA), which hosted the event, were 'angry at the reaction' and had been 'amazingly kind and supportive.'

She thanked people for their kind words and said she was going to be fine.

The Council for British Archaeology (CBA), which hosted the event, said it condemned anyone who treats 'these issues lightly' (Ms Bradford pictured above0

Dr Mike Heyworth, CBA's executive director, told the BBC that the CBA was shocked at the reaction to her award and 'condemns anyone who treats these issues lightly and does not give researchers in this area the respect they fully deserve'.

He added the organization hadn't been able to identify exactly who was laughing in the audience but said the organisation was writing to those who attended the event to condemn 'the completely inappropriate reaction.'