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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.
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.
The University of Bradford's internationally renowned research in North Atlantic archaeology at Old Scatness, Shetland has provided a sustainable legacy for the region, enhancing awareness of Shetland's past. This innovative heritage project is a partnership between the University and the Shetland Amenity Trust and has been critical to new developments in heritage presentation on the islands. The heritage project at Old Scatness pioneered a blend of site preservation and reconstructed buildings combined with an interpretive approach that provides visitors with a stimulating and interactive experience. The consideration of what was a hitherto unknown archaeological area as a World Heritage Site demonstrates the international significance of the research and its impact.
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.
Glasgow archaeologists' work on key battle sites in Europe uncovered the remains of a mass grave from World War I, leading to the identification of 250 Australian soldiers and commemoration of the site and the soldiers by the families, their countries and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Excavations in Flanders and northern France allowed the public to learn about the hidden history of the Western Front, where tens of thousands of Allied soldiers lived in underground tunnels. Through such work and sustained public engagement, battlefields are now recognised as sites of national and international historical and cultural importance. This recognition has been translated into policy, with the inventory of Scottish battlefields compiled by the Glasgow archaeologists underpinning the Scottish Government's 2009 policy on the preservation of battlefields, which affords them, for the first time, a status similar to that of historical monuments or listed buildings.
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.
Research at the submerged town of Pavlopetri in Greece has stimulated improved management and conservation of a key site of marine cultural heritage. It helped to forge a new policy against uncontrolled industrialisation of the Vatika bay, reducing potential environmental damage, and has informed the development of national governmental policy on the protection and presentation of submerged sites in Greece.
Utilising pioneering technological advancements in underwater scanning and improved visualisation processes, the research also helped an offshore engineering company to improve its product development and changed the way archaeologists and the public visualise, interpret and understand marine cultural heritage.
Through an internationally successful documentary (viewed by approximately 15 million people) that used state-of-the-art CGI technology, public awareness and policy engagement with underwater archaeology (and the environmental issues related to its preservation) have been enhanced and, locally, Vatika and the Laconia region have seen increased tourism and transformed community involvement.
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.
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.
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.