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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.
Archaeological enquiry in north-east England has been a strategic objective at the heart of our research vision for six decades. Responding to the erosion of the industrial identity of the region, academic staff working alongside our commercial unit Archaeological Services (ASDU) are enhancing community archaeology skills and projecting heritage as a core element of local identity. At our Binchester Field School we distill academic and commercial knowledge and best practice in a high-profile participatory research project that has generated spin-off bespoke practical workshops and structured programmes of co-enquiry, thereby empowering local communities to access their regional past.
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.
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.
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 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.
Weathering causes deterioration and loss of historic and archaeological stone and is a major control on long-term landscape change. The impact of the Weathering Research Group (WRG) is three-fold: improved historic stone conservation practice; development of stone management protocols; provision of expert site evaluation for UNESCO World Heritage site and natural landscape proposals. Over the last 20 years, nationally and internationally, the WRG has unravelled the complexity of weathering processes, improved understanding of stone behaviour and contributed directly to better stone management and conservation practices for nationally and internationally important heritage structures and landscapes.
This impact derives from Wootton and Walda's archaeological research into the Roman sites of Libya, including the GIS mapping of site locations, and study and conservation of Hellenistic and Roman mosaics. Against the difficult background of Gaddafi's regime, its fall and the aftermath, they have, by invitation, provided training and advice to the Libyan Department of Antiquities in the documentation, conservation and management of archaeological objects and sites, especially mosaics. They provided Blue Shield, on request, with a watch-list of sites with GIS co-ordinates to enable NATO to target their airstrikes to avoid them. The primary beneficiaries are the Libyan people, to whose national pride and identity this patrimony is crucial, and the Libyan Department of Antiquities. The secondary beneficiaries are the international community, to whom Libya's rich Roman-period cultural patrimony is of major concern.
Bradford's pioneering research into geophysical prospecting has significantly changed the approach to heritage management in the UK and internationally. Our research has influenced the development of commercial survey instruments in this field as well as changing industry guidance/practice. The changes include increased use of more sustainable, non-invasive methods for archaeological investigation and the gathering of richer data about the buried past. Our guidelines for legacy archaeological data have created standards in the archiving of this valuable information resource for public re-use. The group's involvement with Time Team has enhanced public awareness of geophysical prospecting which is demonstrated in the increased use of these techniques by community groups.
The impact of this research has been to change architectural conservation practice to utilize plants as agents of conservation rather than remove them from ruins and other heritage sites. The impact stems from new scientific evidence based on integrated laboratory and field studies carried out at the School of Geography and the Environment in Oxford, by Professor Viles and her team, demonstrating that plants and other organic growths can be protective and contribute to successful and cost-effective conservation of heritage sites. The impact has been realised through close collaboration with English Heritage throughout the research process.