Impact case study database

Impacts centre around two principal strands, changes to policy and management and changes in public understanding of wetland archaeology.

1. Changes to policy and management of wetland, peatland and waterlogged heritage sites

Taken together the impacts are changes to the heritage management of a number of fragile archaeological sites and landscapes, with the following specific impacts:

• That Hatfield Trackway has been recognised as an important and unique ceremonial centre arising directly from Chapman’s research and subsequent recommendations made to Historic England and Natural England (R1, KF1). This recognition is shown by receipt of new statutory protection as a Scheduled Ancient Monument in 2017 (S1). Further, it is now listed on the ‘Heritage at Risk’ register (S1).

• The need for long-term preservation through engineered water management in situ (R1, R3) has been recognised and delivered. This is evidenced by the adoption of new site management policies for the Neolithic trackway and platform by Natural England on Hatfield Moors (R1) and at the Iron Age marsh-fort site of Sutton Common (S2), which included the expansion of the Water Level Management Plan for neighbouring Shirley Pool (S3) (KF1, KF3). These research outcomes, in addition to those from the Waveney valley, led to Chapman being commissioned by Historic England in 2015 to advise on the potential for in situ hydrological preservation and management at the Bronze Age site of Flag Fen, Cambridgeshire (R4; S4, S5).

• Changes to professional practice have been achieved through cross-sector discussions led by Smith with HEIs, Historic England advisors and commercial environmental archaeologists. These discussions have highlighted a growing skills shortage in wetland archaeology. To address this shortage, Smith engaged in a series of knowledge transfer and skill development training, including on-site training to staff of Vest-Himmerlands Museum (Denmark), and hosting an Association for Environmental Archaeology Conference on pests of society, incorporating a one-day archaeobotany workshop (the former attended by 84 and the latter by 27, including 7 as CPD training). Feedback highlighted the benefit of this training and evidenced the need for continuing CPD for curatorial and heritage providers (S6). One issue identified was a lack of standardised criteria for the professional analysis of mineralised material leading to the production of the e-book resource Mineralised Plant and Invertebrate Remains (English Heritage funded, S7) (KF4).

• The model of wetland evolution of Hatfield and Thorne Moors (R1) was the first of its kind and has been used as an exemplar to strengthen the advice to practitioners and heritage agencies on preservation strategies for wetland archaeology with resulting models available both regionally (South Yorkshire Archaeology Service) and nationally (Historic England, S5) (KF1, KF5). The application of these models for other sectors, such as addressing the challenges of climate change, is now being considered by Natural England. In 2017, Chapman consulted on the IUCN draft plan for peatland heritage that acknowledges the importance of archaeology within their new vision and strategy (S8), impacting on UK national policy regarding wetland archaeology as recognised in A Secure Peatland Future (2016) (S8). This has led to continued engagement with the IUCN policy statements on peatland heritage for over a decade (Gearey et al. 2010).

1. Changes in public understanding of wetland archaeology

The impact of our research on public understanding is demonstrated by:

• Public interest and engagement in research have been stimulated through changes in the ways public bodies engage audiences, including through the enhancement of displays and exhibitions by museums and visitors’ centres. Natural England chose to showcase our research on the Neolithic trackway and platform (R1) as the central theme for the opening of the new visitors’ centre on Hatfield Moors, incorporating research into displays and information boards on site, (S1) (KF1). The opening itself attracted over 100 community visitors to a remote location. The research on the post-alignment at Beccles resulted in an ongoing display in Beccles Museum and the commissioning of an on-site information board outlining both the process and outcomes of the research to the general public (S5). Our findings have refocused bog body research onto their associated landscapes (KF6). This is feeding into a new permanent exhibition being developed by the internationally significant Museum Silkeborg (Denmark) (S9).

• The research on Hatfield and Thorne Moors (R1) has resulted in the establishment of new projects with public groups. This resulted in significant changes in public awareness and understanding for participating volunteers within a marginalised area (the ward and large parts of the wider local authority are in the top two deciles for most deprived areas in the UK ( Gov Indices of Deprivation 2019). This area has one of the lowest levels of GCSE success, and engagement with Higher Education, by both young people and adults (as defined by the Office for Students). Because of our research, Natural England and the Isle of Axholme and Hatfield Chase Landscape Partnership invited Chapman to lead a new community project focused on the creation of a full-scale reconstruction of the archaeological site which was opened on 20 July 2019 (S1). With a core group of 20 volunteers, the feedback has evidenced significant changes in individuals’ understanding. Volunteers described the experience as “informative, stimulating and inspirational”, and as a “fantastic opportunity which has enabled me to re-think about key concepts of the Neolithic period, how they connected with their landscape, how and why they constructed the trackway and their cultural heritage”. Preconceived understandings changed through the experimental work, with volunteers saying that they were “surprised how well the flint axes cut the trees”. The success of this project has led to an additional year’s funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for a new Neolithic-themed reconstruction project with Natural England that will complement the trackway, including a later Neolithic house near the visitors’ centre.

• A change in the nature of public awareness and the ability of the public to make informed decisions about research into wetlands has resulted from the excavations of the trackway on Hatfield Moors and the subsequent establishment of the collaborative Wildscapes project on the Humberhead levels (e.g., R1, KF1, KF5). Events have centred on public engagement with local communities, heritage organisations and nature conservation groups (including project partners Thorne and Hatfield Moors Conservation Forum and the Isle of Axholme and Hatfield Chase Landscape Partnership). This has raised awareness of the importance of these archaeological sites and landscapes to the wider community. Activities have included collaborative fieldwork and CPD training for volunteers, three public outreach events for over 150 members and have resulted in significant volunteer participation in a range of projects (amounting to over 1000 volunteer hours annually). Volunteers wrote blogs outlining their experience and CPD training resulted in employment within the sector for one volunteer and enrolment on a degree programme by another. The nature of the collaborative methods of the Wildscapes project was outlined in The Conversation, which was subsequently redistributed via Yahoo! News and The Independent, and other media (S10).

• Increased international public understanding and awareness of wetland archaeology was achieved by extensive media reach consisting of expert contributions to television productions focusing on Chapman and Smith’s research into the environmental archaeology of bog bodies (S10, KF6). In addition to reaching international audiences, this also demonstrates the economic impact of the work through the commissioning and re-selling of these programmes. Examples have included PBS’s Ghosts of murdered kings and the Smithsonian Channel’s Secrets: Season 4, Episode 7: Bog Bodies. As a direct result of our research into the landscape archaeology of bog bodies in the UK and Denmark (e.g., R9), a US programme, Mummies Unwrapped, was developed for the Discovery Channel that focuses on our new approach and key findings.

4.1 Changes to policy and planning of heritage sites

Our work has established new baselines for making planning decisions within the World Heritage Site (WHS) at a time when the Stonehenge landscape is facing extensive policy and planning challenges relating to major infrastructure developments. The identification of over 30 previously unknown ceremonial and funerary monuments (RF2), the discovery of an array of massive pits encircling Durrington Walls super-henge (RF3), and discoveries of thousands of other archaeological features in the course of the SHL and SLE projects have fundamentally altered the way that we understand the Stonehenge landscape, including areas previously perceived to be ‘empty spaces’. Together, these define new frameworks of knowledge and understanding for making planning decisions within the WHS. The joint World Heritage Committee/ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) advisory mission report on the WHS explicitly recognises the significant contribution of the research findings (RF2, RF4) to its baseline understanding, in addition to technical and methodological approaches (RF1) now considered essential to future planning and development-related field investigation (E1).

This fundamental shift in understanding has changed the knowledge base for decision-making relating to the current A303 tunnel scheme through its planning stages (2017–present). Highways England purchased SHLP research data in advance of publication for intensive use in developing the archaeological evaluation and mitigation strategies for the scheme (referenced, for example, in their Heritage Impact Assessment; E2). A written submission from the Consortium of Archaeologists (including Garwood) contributing to the A303 road scheme public consultation was mentioned in parliamentary debate (E3), and the significance of the research findings has resulted in Garwood making expert contributions to the A303 Examination process that have informed and influenced a range of stakeholder bodies. These include the A303 Heritage Management Advisory Group, Highways England, Wiltshire County Archaeology Service, and the A303 Road Scheme Examination Authority (E4).

Our further intervention in the A303 road scheme decision process in June 2020 led directly to the Secretary of State for Transport granting a four-month postponement and additional consultation period for all Interested Parties (E5). This was in response to a written submission from the Consortium of Archaeologists, based on a statement by Garwood concerning the significance of the discovery of the massive pits encircling Durrington Walls super-henge (RF3). This has resulted in a multiplicity of responses from all parties connected with the A303 scheme and its examination, and recognition that understanding of the Stonehenge landscape has changed as a consequence of the latest SHLP discoveries (e.g., Historic England’s submission to the Secretary of State, August 2020: E5).

4.2 Changes to heritage management

Significant changes in the heritage management of the WHS have resulted from the major advances in understanding that the SHLP and SLEP have produced, with respect both to the character and distribution of known and new monuments (RF2, RF3, RF4) and new information regarding the Pleistocene and early post-glacial landscape (RF5, RF6). SHLP results (RF2, RF4) have been used “to improve understanding and to inform management initiatives” within the WHS, as is highlighted in the current Site Management Plan (E6, p. 42). The importance of the research to this change was acknowledged in the current WHS Research Framework as “revealing a wealth of previously unknown sites via remote sensing and geophysical survey” (E7, p. 4). The effectiveness of new methods pioneered by the SHLP (motorised survey and multi-sensor investigation; RF1), demonstrated by project findings (RF2, RF4, RF6), resulted in new methodological approaches to non-invasive survey and the establishment of a new Remote Sensing Group by the National Trust (E8), Europe’s largest heritage conservation charity and one of the largest landowners in the UK.

The significance of the findings for heritage management strategies within the WHS have also been recognised by the Avebury and Stonehenge Archaeological and Historical Research Group (ASAHRG), who support the delivery of the Heritage Management Plan. New monuments and additions to previously known monuments (RF2, RF4) have fed into heritage databases used to inform the management of the landscape, particularly in relation to planning. This has included a large number of new entries in the Historic Environment Record, maintained by the Wiltshire County Archaeology Service and the register of Scheduled Ancient Monuments, maintained by Historic England (E9).

4.3 Changes to heritage presentation

Representations of Stonehenge and the wider WHS have changed (E10), both in the UK and overseas, as a result of the research findings of the SHL and SLE projects (RF2, RF4, RF5, RF6). The most recent Stonehenge guidebook edition (2017; published in eight languages), for example, includes the Durrington Walls super-henge discoveries, and the large-screen landscape film in the Stonehenge Visitor Centre permanent exhibition shows results of SHLP surveys more widely (such as the new henge monument discovered under the Amesbury 50 round barrow). Partly on this basis, and also as a result of several talks at the Visitor Centre by Garwood, Chapman, and other members of the SHL and SLE project teams, staff from the National Trust and English Heritage, in addition to volunteer guides, now present a revised and enriched interpretation of the landscape for visitors, reflecting the discoveries of new monuments and new knowledge regarding the Stonehenge prehistoric landscape (E10).

Significant heritage presentation reach is also evident in exhibitions and displays both in the UK and Austria. A major SHLP-centred museum exhibition ran for 9 months in 2017 at the MAMUZ museum in Mistelbach, Austria, an institution hosting around 70,000 visitors annually. Reach was further extended through a SHLP stand at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition in 2015, where hundreds of attendees completed a simulation game relating to the cultural heritage of the Stonehenge landscape, focusing on prehistoric funerary practices and monuments.

4.4 Changes to public understanding of the Stonehenge landscape

Changed public understandings of how innovations in geophysical methods have led to new insights into the past (RF1) and dramatic new knowledge of the Stonehenge landscape (RF2–6) have taken place as a result of intense media interest in the SHLP and other kinds of public and institutional engagement through both the SHLP and SLEP. These impacts are evident both in terms of the exceptional international reach of the SHLP results and in the ways that popular narratives of Stonehenge and its landscape setting have changed at Stonehenge itself (E10) and through broadcast media. In particular, a two-part Emmy-nominated mini-series, Operation Stonehenge, focusing directly on the results of the SHLP (RF2, RF4), was first broadcast on BBC2 in 2014 (2.27m viewers for ep.1; 1.82m for ep.2) and simultaneously on ORF2 in Austria. The series has been re-broadcast three times in the UK and re-sold in at least 15 other countries, demonstrating economic impact in addition to reach. Other documentaries that have disseminated project results include National Geographic’s The Story of God, with Morgan Freeman (season 1, ep.3), and Channel 5’s Beneath Britain (ep.1: Stonehenge).

The significant international reach of our research is further evident in television, print and online news media (e.g., BBC News, Sky News, The Times, Telegraph, Guardian, The Economist, USA Today, Washington Post, El Pais, Wiener Zeitung, Augsburger Allgemeine, NRC Handelsblad). Just one press conference in London in September 2015, concerned with major discoveries at Durrington Walls super-henge, generated news coverage in at least 15 countries with audiences and readerships of over 30 million people. The SHLP has also featured in a range of special interest television programmes, magazines and blogs (e.g., BBC Countryfile, British Archaeology, Current Archaeology, Scientific American, Bild der Wissenschaft, EOS Magazine, ZME Science, LiveScience.com, The Geological Society blog). Notably, the collaborative work at Durrington Walls (RF2) was voted Research Project of the Year 2017 by readers of Current Archaeology, the UK’s only independent archaeology magazine with a readership of over 45,000.