The RICHeS team recently travelled to the University of Southampton to meet with the Coastal and Inland Waters Heritage Science Facility team, led by Professor Fraser Sturt. This RICHeS’ funded facilities project will significantly enhance capabilities for geophysical and geotechnical data collection using advanced state-of-the-art uncrewed surface vessels, remotely operated vehicles and specialised sensors. It couples this to an advanced lab-based analysis and imaging suite.
The UK’s rivers, lakes and coastlines are home to some of its most significant but also most vulnerable heritage assets. By improving access to this advanced equipment and technical expertise, the project will support complex archaeological investigations within dynamic and challenging environments. By combining maritime and terrestrial field-based survey methods with advanced lab-based capabilities, the facility enables the delivery of a seamless approach to our shared heritage from artefacts to structures to landscapes, both above and below the water.
A digital humanities hub for heritage science
The visit included a tour of Southampton’s Digital Humanities Hub, a state-of-the art facility designed to foster interdisciplinary research across the arts, humanities and sciences. With immersive environments, digital production tools and fabrication equipment, the hub enables hands-on, tech-enhanced engagement with artefacts, media and cultural landscapes. The RICHeS team experienced a fully immersive virtual reality (VR) environment featuring Oculus headsets and a Cyberith VR treadmill, allowing full-motion exploration of heritage sites. This capability offers researchers and the public unprecedented access to environments that are otherwise unreachable.
The virtual reality environment available within the Digital Humanities Hub
Technology enhanced analysis and engagement
This RICHeS investment builds on support from the AHRC Capability for Collections (CapCo) Fund, further improving access to next-generation tools and expanding research opportunities across disciplines. Within the facility, the RICHeS team explored a newly dedicated space housing advanced imaging technologies, aerial survey tools and public engagement platforms. The project will facilitate 4D data capture at a range of scales and resolutions using laser scanning, photogrammetry and LiDAR, all crucial technologies for documenting and preserving heritage in situ.
The laboratory houses a suite of high-spec imaging technologies, including a Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) dome, used to capture fine surface textures and details on artefacts. This powerful imaging technique supports close analysis and long-term digital preservation.
The facility also hosts a fleet of drones used for photogrammetric and landscape surveys. These tools enable high-precision mapping, site documentation and environmental monitoring, especially valuable for hard-to-reach or environmentally sensitive locations. The captured data can then be transformed into 3D printed models, interactive displays and immersive teaching materials that broaden public engagement, enhance museum exhibitions and support outreach and education.
Collaborative exploration of our underwater environments
The University of Southampton’s technologies have been deployed across national and international research efforts. Their work as part of the RICHeS distributed infrastructure builds on key initiatives such as the Unpath’d Waters project, as part of AHRC’s Towards a National Collection (TaNC) programme, and the Tangaroa project that aims to safeguard marine environments from the environmental risks posed by historic shipwrecks.
In May 2025, the Southampton team took part in a collaborative investigation to locate a WWII Lancaster Bomber lost in the Humber River, demonstrating the facility’s real-world impact and cross-sector collaboration.
RICHeS were inspired to hear about the team’s ongoing partnerships with national marine bodies, legal experts on maritime heritage and global research networks. Their work exemplifies the potential of collaborative, interdisciplinary heritage science to better understand, and better protect, our marine past.
Professor Fraser Sturt shares:
“The investment by RICHeS in this facility is transforming our national capability to identify, investigate and make accessible critical parts of our shared past both above and below the water. It will open the door for more people to engage with cultural heritage in a wider range of ways, whilst also addressing key questions in heritage science“