AHRC award for Advancing Access to the UCL Archaeological Reference Collections

The project ‘Advancing Access to the UCL Archaeological Reference Collections [A3RC] is part of the Research Infrastructure for Conservation and Heritage Science (RICHeS) programme, funded by the UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council through the UKRI Infrastructure Fund. This award will support the UCL Institute of Archaeology in enhancing access to its globally significant scientific reference collections.

Prof Geraint Rees, UCL Vice Provost Research, Innovation and Global Engagement (RIGE) said:

The A3RC project, generously supported by UKRI-AHRC funding, will enable UCL to extend access to our significant archaeological collections to UK and international researchers. This underpins UCL's vision to inspire our communities to create and share knowledge, thus transforming how the world is understood.”

AHRC Research Infrastructure for Conservation and Heritage Science (RICHeS) programme banner (a blue background with white text (left) and yellow background with blue text (right)

The launch of the Research Infrastructure for Conservation and Heritage Science (RICHeS) programme is taking place today (1 October 2024) with a special event to mark the establishment of this major £80m research and innovation investment that will support the latest technology and scientific equipment to safeguard heritage for future generations and will boost the UK’s heritage economy.

A3RC @ UCL

Established in 1937 as a national archaeological training resource, the Institute of Archaeology remains one of the largest centres for archaeology, conservation, and heritage science in the UK.

The A3RC project is led by Kevin MacDonald (Director & Professor of African Archaeology) with Co-Leads, Rhiannon Stevens (Professor of Archaeological Science) and Dorian Fuller (Professor of Archaeobotany) and other Institute of Archaeology colleagues.

According to Prof Kevin MacDonald:

The AHRC RICHeS award just received by the Institute of Archaeology will help us to better curate and make available our treasured archaeobotanical, osteological and artefactual collections. These collections have long been of great study value to our own staff and students, it will be a pleasure to improve access to them for the wider UK and international research communities.

The Institute’s archaeobotanical collections are among the largest in the world, with over 18,500 accessions of modern botanical specimens and archaeological plant remains.

A woman looking at material under a microscope

These collections encompass both cultivated and wild species from five continents, with a particular focus on the Fertile Crescent, Africa, Southwest Asia, and Europe and are crucial for the taxonomic identification of archaeological materials.

They provide an unrivalled resource for understanding human adaptations to climate and environmental change during periods before historical records.

The Institute’s osteological collections include reference material from modern animals, as well as archaeological remains. The zooarchaeological material includes rare specimens from the Middle East, as well as extensive taphonomic examples.

A person holding a jaw bone from an animal

Additionally, the human osteology material houses the largest palaeopathology collection in the UK, which plays a critical role in the study of past diseases, disabilities, and the history of medicine.

Prof Dorian Fuller said:

Agriculture is one of great legacies of prehistoric human societies and its study from the fragmentary remains in archaeological sites requires extensive reference collections of cultivated and wild plants. Our unique reference collection is the largest in a UK archaeology department and has been collected and built up for over 60 years. It has potential to aid research from around the world.

The Institute’s artefact collections consist of over 80,000 items, such as ceramics, stone tools, metalwork, figurines, and jewellery from Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas.

These collections include archaeological finds from Palestine, a major teaching and research resource.

With this award new infrastructure and study spaces, as well as the storage and accessibility of the archaeobotanical, osteological, and artefact collections, will be improved.

Dedicated technical support will enable the Institute to meet the increasing demand from researchers seeking access to these significant collections, enhancing both research excellence and the wider value of these collections, helping them to enable future advances in our understanding of the past and catalysing new collaborative research projects.

A new website resource will be developed as part of the A3RC project for the collections and their catalogues as well as providing details relating to the new facilities and access arrangements as part of the RICHeS national research infrastructure.

According to Prof Rhiannon Stevens:

This funding allows us to open up collections, paving the way for researchers to conduct transformative and groundbreaking archaeological science research.

The UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funds internationally outstanding independent researchers across the whole range of the arts and humanities: history, archaeology, digital content, philosophy, languages and literature, design, heritage, area studies, the creative and performing arts, and much more.

The quality and range of research supported by AHRC works for the good of UK society and culture and contributes both to UK economic success and to the culture and welfare of societies across the globe.