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University of Huddersfield research into new interdisciplinary methods for systematic archaeological examination has led to significant advances in the identification and subsequent conservation of historic battlefields. The work has influenced policy and practice at English Heritage, informing key changes in its National Heritage Protection Plan, and has been used to help safeguard famous sites such as Bosworth and Hastings. It has also shaped policy in other countries — including Belgium — where it has been described as "the basis for the development of a governmental vision" regarding battlefield sites — and has raised wider public awareness of battlefield archaeology through high-profile media engagement.
Research carried out by the University of Reading's Martin Bell and Nicholas Branch on previously neglected wetland environments (such as coasts, floodplains and mires) has had impact in two main areas:
1) Heritage management: The work has made a major contribution to the sustainable management of marginal environments in the face of climate change and development pressures. This has directly affected local planning processes, with Bell and Branch's approaches to monitoring and recording adopted as best practice by a range of organisations.
2) Capacity building of geoarchaeology in the commercial sector: The research has enhanced the capability of organisations to respond effectively to the challenges of interpreting European wetland archaeology in advance of development pressures. Knowledge transfer of the research to these commercial units has contributed to sustained economic growth for such organisations.
Research into maritime and experimental archaeology at Exeter has played a major role in transforming how museums connect modern communities with their seafaring heritage through experimental archaeology and the innovative approach of `construction-as- performance' (full-scale construction of a boat undertaken in front of the public using experimental archaeology). A major project held at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall (NMMC), supported by an AHRC KTF, has demonstrated the value of experimental maritime archaeology in engaging the public with the past. In addition to greatly increasing their visitor numbers, this project received considerable regional, national and international media coverage, and has given the NMMC the confidence to undertake subsequent projects and so develop their own research capacity. The impact of the Exeter/NMMC project is also reflected in how the `construction-as-performance' concept has been adopted elsewhere. Exeter's workstream in the EU-funded OpenArch project, for example, introduced staff from open air museums in mainland Europe to the Exeter/NMMC approach, and as a result Exeter staff were invited to take part in a boat reconstruction in Finland. Such was the success of these early projects, the British Museum, NMMC, and an open air museum in Italy have commissioned further reconstructions using `construction-as-performance'.
Dr Alan Dixon's research, undertaken in East and Southern Africa, has examined how local people develop wetland management knowledge, and how local institutional arrangements facilitate wetland management that balances livelihood needs with the maintenance of ecosystem services. In Ethiopia, research findings have been applied by the Ethio-Wetlands and Natural Resources Association, enhancing the livelihoods of 2000+ households. In Malawi and Zambia, the `Striking a Balance' project implemented wetland-catchment management initiatives with 300+ households, alleviating poverty amongst local communities. On-going research and field implementation activities continue to inform the wetland-livelihoods policy-making agenda of governments and local and international NGOs.
The site of Star Carr (c. 9000 BC) is internationally renowned in the archaeological world yet, until now, has been virtually unheard of in the public sphere. Research at York has enhanced the preservation and conservation of this important site, securing its status on the Schedule of Monuments, and informed the management, protection and restoration of wetlands across Europe. Alongside this, research into the public perception of the Mesolithic has guided a comprehensive range of public engagement activities which have enhanced Mesolithic heritage presentation and raised global awareness of this undervalued period of human prehistory.
Archaeological survey and excavation focussed on the `Heart of Neolithic Orkney' World Heritage Site (WHS) have had beneficial impacts on the historic environment. The landscape approach of the research has had a local impact on planning policy, contributing to preservation and interpretation of the historic environment, and a global impact in application of the research approaches to other World Heritage Sites. Extensive public engagement in the research has enhanced cultural understandings of the past/Neolithic and of archaeological heritage management issues and made a significant contribution to sustainable economic development in Orkney, increasing tourism around archaeology and supporting local businesses.
A programme of research conducted by The Centre for Maritime Archaeology (CMA) at the University of Southampton has influenced, at a national and international scale, the management and protection of underwater and coastal heritage. The research has directly influenced public policy, nationally through the English Heritage Maritime and Marine Historic Environment Research Agenda, and internationally by underpinning primary legislation and current practice in Uruguay. Capacity building has resulted in new educational infrastructure, the Centre for Maritime Archaeology and Underwater Cultural Heritage (CMAUCH) in Alexandria, Egypt, which has changed attitudes towards maritime heritage throughout the region.
Oxford Brookes Archaeology and Heritage (OBAH) offers research, and consultancy services in archaeology, heritage and the ancient environment. OBAH undertook four major excavations on behalf of the Government of Bahrain between 2009 and 2010. The impact of OBAHs excavations and reports were instrumental in (a) the sites excavated being designated national monuments, protected under law, and (b) underpinning a UNESCO World Heritage bid by Bahrain in 2010. Pearling and its cultural landscapes in Bahrain was awarded World Heritage status at the 36th meeting of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in June 2012.
This research in Libya has had several significant impacts with wide reach for a range of different groups, both national and international. It has made fundamental contributions to the archaeological mapping of Libya (a country of extraordinary archaeological richness but still poorly recorded), to the development of typologies of sites and artefacts, and to dating frameworks. This has delivered major related impacts for management of cultural heritage by the Libyan Department of Antiquities (DoA), and for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and archaeological mitigation work by oil companies in the Libyan desert. There have been additional benefits through dissemination of new historical models, as well as protection of heritage sites during the 2011 conflict.
John Blair's research on the history and archaeology of early medieval England has had a major impact on central and local planning policy. It has made several significant contributions to current practice as regards historic landscapes and building preservation (especially churches), and it is at the heart of the on-going debate about future policy reform. His publications are read and used by planning officers, policy makers, and by the general public — who have also come to know of his work through Channel Four's Time Team. Blair's research demonstrates the influence that academic history and archaeology of the highest scholarly standards can have on planners, policy makers, commercial archaeologists, and conservationists. Its public benefits include improved understanding, cultural enrichment, and conservation policies which are more sensitive to the heritage embedded in landscapes.