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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.
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)
Academic research undertaken on the site of Wroxeter Roman City, Shropshire, aimed at interpreting the site `building-by-building', revolutionised current understanding of the site and its chronology. This research has benefitted the management of the site, English Heritage policy, education and public discourse, and economic prosperity within the region. The research resulted in the commissioning of new outputs aimed at improving the understanding and management of the monument, and at increasing visitor use and the communication of the significances of the site to the public. Deliverables included:
Utilising the results of large-scale research programmes by Barry Cunliffe and his Oxford team, the museum facilities connected to both Brading villa and Danebury hillfort bring to life the Iron Age and Roman periods for the general public. In addition, they promote substantial learning into key periods in prehistory, and during Britain's incorporation into the Roman empire, which are often neglected.
Cunliffe's work has had fundamental impact through first the establishment and then the shaping of two museum facilities: the Museum of the Iron Age in Andover and a Visitor Centre at Brading. The work at Danebury is of long-standing origin, and began in 1968, but has been given significant new impetus since 2011 by a substantial HLF grant, which has created new educational materials, guided site visits and online resources. The excavations at Brading took place between 2008 and 2010 and were fundamental to the development of the new Visitor's Centre. Both facilities use recent finds and visual representation to give a more enriched sense of community life in these localities over a millennium and a half, starting at around 1000BC.
The research has had educational impact on visitors to these two museum facilities, including large numbers of school children, the general public, and archaeology and museum professionals, and on individual volunteers who have worked on the sites. By attracting visitors to the sites and museums, the research has also improved the experience of local tourists.
A research project, embedded in the local community, unearthed multiple Iron Age treasures that have rewritten our understanding of the Iron Age to Roman transition in Britain. The discoveries directly inspired the South East Leicestershire Treasure project (SELT), which raised £934k funding (including 651K from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF)) for a major programme encompassing museum redevelopment, travelling exhibitions and a suite of learning resources. SELT initiatives have been enjoyed by over 270,000 members of the public, who through it have gained fascinating insights into our distant past. The find has also inspired a huge sense of community pride in a Leicestershire village and underlined the value of university involvement in local archaeology. The project was another important factor in the recent award of a Queen's Anniversary Prize.
Through an extensive and innovative programme of participation and dissemination, the University of Reading's long-term research at the Iron Age and Roman site of Calleva Atrebatum in Silchester, Hampshire, continues to change public awareness of the subtle interactions between natives and Romans in Britain and the potential of contextual and environmental archaeology for understanding town life. External interest in the Silchester Town Life Project has been cultivated, sustained and expanded over 17 years and its reach is remarkable: in the REF period alone, it has stimulated over 30,000 visits to the annual six-week excavation at Calleva and more than 30,000 unique visitors to the project website in 2012-13 alone, as well as attracting regular and extensive media coverage and considerable charitable grants and donations. Through this combination of excellent research and accessibility, the project has made a sustained and far-reaching contribution to enhancing the public's understanding of Iron Age to Roman urban life in Britain at the same time as pioneering new approaches to inclusiveness and access in archaeology.
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.
As a result of her outstanding research in Roman history and archaeology, Beard was invited to work with a TV production company to develop two programmes for BBC2. The first was a one-off programme specifically linked to her book Pompeii (2008), the second a series (Meet the Romans, 2011) related to her research on Pompeii and to her research on Roman social history and inscriptions. Recognised as landmark broadcasts (Pompeii gained 3.4 million viewers, the largest audience for a factual BBC2 programme in 2010, and was shortlisted for a BAFTA), both have led to widespread public engagement and (with major overseas sales) to considerable economic and cultural benefit to the UK.
A University of Southampton study of Portus, the maritime port of Imperial Rome, has had a significant influence on how the State authorities in Rome manage archaeological sites. Its findings show that commercial activity at the port was far greater than previously understood, enabling academics to reappraise the site's significance and increase public awareness of it around the world through extensive media coverage. It has benefitted UK researchers by acting as a laboratory for new computer-based applications and providing a context for international industrial collaboration. The AHRC has also used the research in case studies to strengthen its funding case to the UK government.
Through a series of excavations, members of the School of Archaeology have enabled large numbers of the general public to become directly involved in investigating the histories of their localities, overturning the perception that archaeological research is inaccessible. This case study demonstrates a sustained, long-term commitment to working closely with, and involving local communities in a series of projects:
i. Hillforts of the Ridgeway (1995 -2000)
ii. Iron Age and Roman Marcham (2000-2011)
iii. Discovering Dorchester-on-Thames (2003 - present)
iv. The Archaeology of East Oxford (Archeox) (2009 - present)
Through these, our research has had an impact on an extensive network of members of the public whose direct involvement with our fieldwork has altered and enhanced their perception and understanding of the history and landscape of their region.