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The Caistor Roman Town Project has transformed understanding of one of East Anglia's most significant archaeological sites and has informed the management strategies of the site's principal stakeholders (South Norfolk Council, Norfolk County Council, Norfolk Museums Service and the Norfolk Archaeological Trust) in relation to presentation and interpretation. The project epitomises `citizen science', engendering sustained community involvement in archaeological research (c. 230 volunteers contributing over 35,000 hours), including the establishment of a charity that has enabled the volunteers to develop and support further community archaeology initiatives in the region. More than 15,000 visitors to excavations over 12 weeks and widespread coverage through internet, print news and television have broadened international understanding of archaeology and the site.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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 by Sauer and collaborators on the relationship between large imperial powers (`superpowers') and subject populations at the borders of empire has influenced public debate in Britain. Through a series of public debates and lectures, the provision of information to public services, as well as the display of key archaeological finds in a museum context, the research has increased public awareness of complex and long-standing issues surrounding immigration and integration, military occupation, civic status, and imperial expansion and rule.