Oxford University to lead £80m heritage protection programme

The funding, from the UK Research and Innovation Arts and Humanities Research Council, will support a new nationwide Research Infrastructure for Conservation and Heritage Science (RICHeS) programme.

Arts and Humanities Research Council executive chair, Professor Christopher Smith, said: "The UK has a rich and unparalleled cultural heritage and is a global leader in the science of heritage conservation.

"By investing in heritage science, we are not only unleashing new understanding about our cultural assets but boosting a world-leading heritage economy that will benefit us all."

As part of the programme, a multi-disciplinary team of Oxford researchers has been awarded close to £1 million to lead the Oxford Collaboration in Heritage Science Research and Engagement (OCHRE) project.

Its goal is to support, enhance, and connect Oxford’s strengths in built heritage, collections, and archaeology through a sustainable heritage science hub, linked to a network of new and updated equipment in eight laboratories.

A researcher at the Ashmolean Museum examines a Maiolica plate using portable X Ray Fluorescence (Image: Ashmolean Museum) Professor Heather Viles, from the School of Geography and the Environment, will lead the Oxford team.

She said: "This amazing grant will make a step-change in our capacity to carry out cutting-edge research which will directly support the conservation and understanding of built heritage, archaeology, and collections."

The project will bring together researchers from the departments of geography, archaeology, materials, engineering science, and chemistry, as well as the Bodleian Library and Ashmolean Museum.

The investment will enable an improvement in the university’s ability to carry out imaging, chemical, and structural analysis, and portable analysis for heritage projects.

This includes a new scanning electron microscope, upgrades to digital imaging equipment and hyperspectral imaging technology, high-performance equipment for chemical and structural analysis, 3D software upgrades, and new equipment for portable analysis and monitoring.

Professor Viles added: "Together, the infrastructure funded through the OCHRE project will be uniquely able to evaluate mechanical, physical, and chemical characteristics of a wide range of heritage materials and therefore provide scientific research support to a broad array of heritage partners - from small museum collections to large, high-profile heritage sites."

The Oxford project is one of 31 projects funded through the first tranche of the Research Infrastructure for Conservation and Heritage Science programme.

Virginia Lladó-Buisán, T. A. Barron, head of conservation and heritage science at Bodleian Libraries, added: "RICHeS has provided the unprecedented opportunity to enhance our heritage science network and equipment infrastructure within Oxford University, which will no doubt have an extremely beneficial impact on our research and collections."