New major funding award to help protect maritime heritage

A new project by the University of Southampton is set to investigate historic maritime sites around the UK which are increasingly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

The UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) will provide the University with around £2m over ten years to set up and run the new Coastal & Inland Waters Heritage Science Facility.

It will help preserve some of the most significant and at-risk sites, such as shipwrecks, historic ports and ancient dwellings – all of which tell an important story about our maritime past.

The cutting-edge facility is one of 31 projects sharing a £37m award in the first stage of the AHRC’s Research Infrastructure for Conservation and Heritage Science (RICHeS) programme.

All the projects funded by the programme aim to unlock the potential of existing heritage collections and provide access to untapped cultural assets to safeguard and grow the country’s £29 billion heritage sector, and kickstart economic growth.

The Southampton facility will use the latest 3D scanning, sensing and data capture technology, along with uncrewed aerial, surface and underwater vehicles, to explore lakes, coasts and inland waterways. It will examine anything from million-year-old tools and footprints, to downed aircraft, and submerged settlements.

Project leader and archaeologist at the University of Southampton, Professor Fraser Sturt , explains: “Climate change means our oceans are warming, storms are becoming more frequent and coastal and river flooding are more likely. This poses a threat to the future of many vulnerable heritage sites which lie in the sea just off our shores, in waterways and submerged in lakes.

“These sites can unlock hidden histories – telling us about how people once lived, how they moved and migrated, traded and shared ideas and sadly also where conflict arose. However, the sites are also often difficult to explore due to shallow waters or rocky inlets.”

The project will draw on the breadth of the University’s strengths in marine and maritime research to accelerate technological applications and development.

Professor Susan Gourvenec , Deputy Director of the Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute notes: “Through drawing on our experiences across the University we will be better placed to acquire and develop key technologies to support the facility.

“New remotely operated and autonomous vehicles will help us examine otherwise inaccessible areas and allow us to scan objects in millimetre scale detail, to whole coastlines that are kilometres long. By scanning wrecks, historic structures and landscapes, we can create ‘digital twin’ virtual visualisations which preserve our heritage and open up these sites for all to view online.”

Nationally, other projects funded by the AHRC award include conserving world-renowned artwork at the Tate, harnessing cutting-edge equipment to protect UK film and video collections and safeguarding biocultural collections for future research.

Head of the RICHeS programme Professor Meggen Gondek said: “The launch of the RICHeS programme is raising the bar for heritage science globally. It signals a new era where art, culture and science unite to stimulate skills, growth and opportunity.

“It will secure the UK’s position of excellence in the field and help foster world-class collaborations at both national and international levels.”

RICHeS is funded by an £80m investment from the UKRI Infrastructure Fund and is delivered by AHRC.