Heritage Science Case Studies

What is heritage science and how does it benefit society?

Heritage science refers to all technological and scientific work to improve our understanding of and ability to care for heritage, including both tangible (e.g. artefacts, buildings, monuments, landscapes) and intangible (e.g. oral traditions, performing arts, knowledge, traditional craft skills) heritage.

This broad definition means that heritage science stretches across many disciplines, including the physical sciences, conservation science, archaeology, engineering, and the humanities.

Heritage science is not just beneficial for the heritage sector but also for broader society. The research that heritage scientists carry out can have significant implications for the greatest challenges our world is facing such as climate change, health and wellbeing, and economic stability.

Below you will find a number of case studies that illustrate just how valuable heritage science research can be. This is the kind of work that will be supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council's (AHRC) Research Infrastructure for Conservation and Heritage Science (RICHeS) scheme, which will be an £80 million investment into heritage and conservation science infrastructure to analyse, conserve, archive and provide access to the UK's national treasures.

For additional case studies, see our work to address five societal challenges.

If you have case studies to contribute, please contact administrator@heritagescienceforum.org.uk.

Image: Photo by Koen Emmers on Unsplash.