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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.
Research by Irene Lemos and Robin Lane Fox on Euboean culture and its dissemination across the Mediterranean has provided cultural, pedagogical, and economic benefits to a range of users. Archaeological investigation by Lemos has contributed to a radical reconfiguring of views of the Iron Age of Greece and of links between Greece and the Near East. Lane Fox integrated this archaeological evidence with research into landscape and mythographic traditions in a monograph Travelling Heroes. The main beneficiaries of the research have been, internationally, readers of Lane Fox's book, viewers of the BBC television programme Greek Myths, and visitors to exhibitions in Athens and Switzerland; within Greece, the people of the village of Lefkandi; and in the UK, the BBC, which has gained revenue from the sale of the TV programme to other broadcasting corporations.
Between 2008 and 2012 the Çaltılar Archaeological Project (ÇAP henceforth) produced intellectual, social, and economic benefits to a variety of social groups (including groups not normally engaged in educational activities) through the following means: i) conserving, presenting, and developing awareness of cultural heritage as well as changing knowledge of and attitudes towards archaeological heritage in particular (2008-2012; ii) influencing design and delivery of education in museums and schools (through advisory roles, creation and sharing of facilities, provision of materials used in teaching) (2010-2012); iii) contributing to the personal and professional development of individuals (training Turkish and UK students in archaeological and transferable skills enhancing their academic careers and employability) (2008-2012); iv) providing temporary employment and economic benefits for local people (2008-2012); v) developing stimuli to tourism and contributing to the quality of the tourist experience (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.
The University of Southampton's long-term archaeological research at Avebury forms the basis upon which national and international heritage organisations such as the National Trust and UNESCO manage and preserve one of the most important prehistoric landscapes in the world. Local councils have used the research findings to inform their own policy and planning decisions. Research disseminated through museum exhibitions, public engagement events and publications has resulted in increased public interest and understanding of the site, stimulating greater tourism and local economic benefit.
Research for the UNESCO trans-national World Heritage nomination of the Silk Roads led to a radical new policy framework for undertaking serial nominations (thematic groups of sites across state boundaries). The `Silk Roads Thematic Study' transformed the attitudes of governments and heritage agencies in the region and had a major impact on conservation, management, interpretation and heritage tourism. This study was supported by a long-term site-specific project undertaken at the ancient city of Merv in Turkmenistan. By developing education strategies with local teachers and transforming national approaches to heritage (through conservation training, management planning, and interpretation) the `Ancient Merv Project' is now an exemplar of best practice throughout the Silk Roads World Heritage Project.
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'.
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.
Since 1995 Richard Hodges and a team from the School of World Art Studies (ART, UEA) have guided the development of the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Butrint, Albania, a major Adriatic port and fortress, occupied from c.600 BC until its abandonment from around 1500 AD. The impacts centre on (i) excavation, interpretation and publishing, (ii) the protection of cultural heritage, (iii) job-creation and capacity building, (iv) establishing a standard for the management of related assets in Albania, and (v) tourism, visitor figures having risen from under 1000 per year in the 1990s to 281,441 during the REF period.
Elizabeth Graham's model of long-standing engagement and research at specific Maya sites in Belize has led to significant partnerships with local communities as well as tourist and heritage organisations. At Lamanai, where Graham has worked for over 15 years, research enabled the Belize tourism authorities to develop the site, benefiting 212,800 visitors during 2008-2013. This partnership led to an invitation to work at the Marco Gonzalez site on Ambergris Caye, where research has facilitated the development of the site virtually from scratch and created a new recognition of Maya heritage on the caye.