Organisation: Newcastle University
Principal investigator: Mark Jackson
Investment Overview
Over the past century, UK researchers from the British School at Athens (BSA), British Institute at Ankara (BIAA), British School at Rome (BSR) and the British International Research Institutes (BIRI) have curated heritage science collections of international significance. These collections represent outstanding resources for studying ancient technologies, economies, innovation, societal change, and the mobility of objects and raw materials in Mediterranean human history, but these collections have been inaccessible and lacked integration. Transforming Access has constructed a robust heritage science collection management system and digital infrastructure to digitally transform and integrate these collections. This infrastructure provides enhanced accessibility to maximise the collaborative research potential of collections according to FAIR principles, delivering services to the public, individual researchers and the cultural heritage sector.
RICHeS investment has enabled the construction of a powerful digital collections management system for hosting and sharing previously unavailable heritage science collections, fostering innovative research collaborations and enhancing public understanding of cultural heritage. The new infrastructure provides tools for sustainable data contribution and website management, making primary data freely accessible via custom web themes for public and educational programs – from school children to post-doctoral researchers. This responds to a wider need for cultural heritage organisations with important heritage science collections to make these available online while faced with the challenge of limited resources to store and structure digital data and to create high-quality, low-cost and low-maintenance websites. Further application of the infrastructure will aim to provide innovative resources for educators, responding to curriculum needs.
Explore More
Visit the HSDS Catalogue of Services for information on services available to access.
You can keep up to date with this investment on their webpage and LinkedIn.