Heritage Science & Archaeology
Heritage science encompasses all technological and scientific work that can benefit the heritage sector, whether through improved management decisions, enhanced understanding of significance and cultural value or increased public engagement (EHSS, page 7).
It covers both conservation research and archaeological science, including remote sensing techniques, scientific dating, environmental archaeology, investigative conservation and materials science.
The work we do addresses the three topics of our science strategy:
- Understanding materials and environments
- Raising awareness, improving methods, access to information and advice
- Capacity, capability and public benefit
Understanding materials and environment
Archaeological projects addressing this theme include:
- Assessing impacts on and capacity for (re)burial of archaeological timber artefacts
- The identification of places with exceptional waterlogged heritage
- Preservation in situ
Raising awareness, improving methods, access to information and advice
This topic covers projects that improve and develop methods of investigating the historic environment, as well as raising awareness of and increasing the uptake of existing and innovative heritage science techniques. Many of the projects are collaborative.
Current projects include:
- Vitamin D status in the Western Roman Empire
- The Times of their Lives
- The conservation of waterlogged leather
This topic also includes access to advice and information including research resources, which are essential building blocks for the effective understanding and conservation of the historic environment.
They include research and reference collections such as our nationally important Zooarchaeological Reference Collection and Archaeobotanical Reference Collection, as well as online resources and databases such as the Coastal and Intertidal Peat Database and the Atlas of Rural Settlement in England GIS.
Capacity, capability and public benefit
This topic covers our work for The English Heritage Trust and the use of heritage science in presenting the national collection, as well as our support for specialist professional groups such as:
Gill Campbell
Head of Fort Cumberland Laboratories-
Email
[email protected]
-
Address
Fort Cumberland,
Fort Cumberland Road,
Portsmouth,
P04 9LD
