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Specialist knowledge about Pompeii changes the way Roman social history is perceived by the general public and in education

Summary of the impact

Alison Cooley's research has changed how Pompeii is taught in schools: her sourcebook allowed inscriptions to become embedded in GCSE- and AS-Level Roman history modules and in Continuing Education courses. She contributed to the exhibition audio-guide for `A day in Pompeii', which enriched the experience of around a million museum visitors in 8 US cities and contributed to museum revenue. Scholastic publishers used her research expertise to make a popular children's book more historically accurate. Through public talks, popular writing, and media consultancy, she has connected public audiences with Roman history. Beneficiaries of her work include teachers and students, museum visitors, the general public, and young readers.

Submitting Institution

University of Warwick

Unit of Assessment

Classics

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Language, Communication and Culture: Cultural Studies, Literary Studies
History and Archaeology: Historical Studies

Shaping public perceptions of the Roman army

Summary of the impact

Dr Coulston's pioneering research on the Roman army and on ancient representations of Roman soldiers (especially but not exclusively in visual media) has:

i. enabled several UK museums to improve the classification and display of their Roman material. (Heritage management)

ii. helped a wide range of media companies in the UK and North America to produce historically accurate representations of the Roman army. (Contributing to creative sector)

iii. enriched the experience of various non-academic user groups in the UK, Europe and North America with a passionate interest in the Roman army, including (a) Roman army re-enactors, modellers, illustrators and amateur historians, as well as (b) other members of the general public. (Public understanding and enriching cultural life)

Submitting Institution

University of St Andrews

Unit of Assessment

Classics

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Language, Communication and Culture: Literary Studies
History and Archaeology: Archaeology, Historical Studies

Pop Classics: the reception of the Ancient World through blogging

Summary of the impact

Dr Juliette Harrisson's blog based on her research has had an impact on wider society:

  • By enriching the lives and imaginations of readers both nationally and internationally, increasing their knowledge and understanding of the ancient world, ancient literature and of classical reception studies.
  • By informing and influencing the education of school children, especially secondary school students learning Latin.
  • By preserving and presenting cultural heritage.

Submitting Institution

Newman University

Unit of Assessment

History

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Language, Communication and Culture: Cultural Studies, Literary Studies
History and Archaeology: Historical Studies

Representing Chedworth Roman Villa

Summary of the impact

Research undertaken for The National Trust at the Romano-British villa at Chedworth (Glos.) has contributed to the re-display of the villa in a project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and others. This includes the creation of a `popular' book on the villa and its context, a new site guidebook, an audio-visual guide, the displays and signage and the new display in the site museum. The impact of the research can therefore be summarised as:

  • Contributing to the preservation and better presentation of cultural heritage
  • Influencing the methods and ideas of heritage/marketing/design professionals
  • Developing stimuli to tourism and contributing to the quality of the tourist/visitor experience.

Submitting Institution

University of Birmingham

Unit of Assessment

Classics

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

History and Archaeology: Archaeology, Historical Studies

Decoding Our Ancient Past: Writing Tablets from Around the World

Summary of the impact

Research by Classicists at Oxford, led by Professor Alan Bowman, on wooden tablets found at Vindolanda, a Roman fort on Hadrian's Wall, has led to the publication of texts that have contributed greatly to public knowledge of life in Roman Britain. This research has been made available to the public at the British and Vindolanda Museums, and through printed and visual media. It has been particularly important in the teaching of Roman Britain and Latin in schools. Bowman's collaboration with colleagues in Engineering to develop new techniques, to enable a better reading of the texts of the tablets has received wide publicity, increasing public knowledge of the methods of historical and scientific research. Research by Bowman on a Frisian tablet has also had impact within the Netherlands; in this case providing the benefit of public awareness of the problems of the historical evidence that has been used to construct nationalistic narratives. Jacob Dahl's application of the technology, developed in Bowman's project to proto-Elamite tablets from south-west Iran has in turn increased public knowledge of attempts to decipher an unknown script and stimulated public engagement with the research.

Submitting Institution

University of Oxford

Unit of Assessment

Classics

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Language, Communication and Culture: Cultural Studies, Literary Studies
History and Archaeology: Historical Studies

Material culture of the Roman frontier

Summary of the impact

Research from Newcastle on the material culture of the Roman empire, particularly its frontier zones, has created impact across a range of users from the general public to commercial archaeologists. In particular, it has enhanced public understanding and education outside the HEI through key museum exhibits and learning resources, community involvement and participatory research, non-academic publishing and engagement activities. It informs policy, commercial work and consultancy, particularly through the on-going partnership between Newcastle scholars and the wider archaeological community.

Submitting Institution

Newcastle University

Unit of Assessment

Geography, Environmental Studies and Archaeology

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

History and Archaeology: Archaeology, Curatorial and Related Studies, Historical Studies

Wallace-Hadrill

Summary of the impact

Wallace-Hadrill designed, and directed (since 2001 and) throughout the period 2008-2013, the Herculaneum Conservation Project, with the aim of developing better conservation strategies for the site, improving understanding by new archaeological discoveries and raising international awareness through public advocacy. His research, embodied in Herculaneum: Past and Future (2011), has made an international impact, informing public debate on the future of the site, attracting extensive media attention (including a television documentary), and influencing the organisation of an exhibition at the British Museum. The project has brought — and continues to bring — substantial funding to the site, and is at the heart of current plans for the site's development.

Submitting Institution

University of Cambridge

Unit of Assessment

Classics

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Language, Communication and Culture: Literary Studies
History and Archaeology: Archaeology, Historical Studies

Folkestone: Public History, Heritage and Identity

Summary of the impact

Impact was achieved through two projects led by Dr Hardy. In December 2005 the Unit helped to establish the Folkestone People's History Centre (FPHC) to research the town's historical heritage. The enthusiastic engagement of individuals and groups in the Centre resulted in a Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) supported project, `A Town Unearthed: Folkestone Before 1500' (ATU), running from December 2009-March 2013, which took over the work of the FPHC. Impact has centred on preserving, creating and interpreting cultural capital; engaging and developing local associations; creating new audiences; influencing policies towards heritage, and challenging assumptions about the history of Folkestone. The main beneficiaries have been adult learners; schools; local authorities, associations and groups; as well as national and international audiences.

Submitting Institution

Canterbury Christ Church University

Unit of Assessment

History

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Language, Communication and Culture: Literary Studies
History and Archaeology: Archaeology, Historical Studies

Improving public understanding of social diversity in Roman Britain

Summary of the impact

Research at the University of Reading has challenged popular perceptions of an essentially homogenous population in Roman Britain, changing understanding and improving awareness of ethnic diversity in particular. The research demonstrated that later Romano-British populations were much more diverse than previously thought, with up to a third of individuals classified as non-local. Migrant populations were also shown to include women and children, in contrast to the popular perception that it was mainly adult males who moved across the Roman Empire. Case studies highlighted mixed-race individuals, second-generation migrants and the diverse origins of the migrants and these cases had a very significant impact on reshaping museum displays (notably the Yorkshire Museum, with 94,000 visitors p.a.). The research also impacted on the Key Stage 2 school curriculum through a website and teachers' resource pack (funded through an AHRC Follow-on-Grant), produced in collaboration with a children's author and the Runnymede Trust, the UK's leading race-equality think tank. The research has thus prompted a significant and important correction to a highly popular historical topic.

Submitting Institution

University of Reading

Unit of Assessment

Geography, Environmental Studies and Archaeology

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

History and Archaeology: Archaeology, Historical Studies

Using the Roman Family to Enhance the Value of Roman Culture in the Present

Summary of the impact

Drawing on his research on Roman history, in particular on the Roman family, Ray Laurence has had a major impact on museum policy in Canterbury as well as raising public awareness of Roman culture and society for an international audience. Following a proposal by Canterbury City Council in February 2010 to close the Canterbury Roman Museum, Laurence initiated a response based on research within the Department which demonstrated the potential for the Roman Museum to engage with visitors in new ways. This led to the Council not only reversing its decision to close the Museum, but also making it one of the priority sites for its future museums policy. Working with other staff in his Department, Laurence has since developed new digital content for the museum as part of this strategy. In addition, Laurence has worked with Cognitive Media to produce two short animated films on the Roman family which received around 260,000 viewings in a 9-month period from the launch of the first film on 29 October 2012 until 31 July 2013. This has led to the leading website TED-Ed.com commissioning Laurence to produce further films on Roman life, and to the extensive circulation of his current films through TED-Ed.com as a classroom resource by teachers.

Submitting Institution

University of Kent

Unit of Assessment

Classics

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

History and Archaeology: Archaeology, Curatorial and Related Studies, Historical Studies

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