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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.
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)
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 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.
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.
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.
Dr Juliette Harrisson's blog based on her research has had an impact on wider society:
Public understanding of the classical world has been informed and enhanced through new editions of the prestigious and internationally acclaimed Oxford Classical Dictionary (OCD) and its spin-off publications. These key reference items, which have sold in high numbers and been translated into several languages, are available in specialist, university, college and public libraries worldwide, thereby benefitting a wide range of users, including the general public, students, school pupils, and fellow professionals.
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.