Maritime and Marine Historic Environment Research Framework

Developing a 'Maritime and Marine Historic Environment Research Framework' for England

The Centre for Maritime Archaeology at the University of Southampton have been commissioned by English Heritage to co-ordinate the development of a research framework for the maritime, marine and coastal archaeology of England.

The research framework will provide a coherent overview of previous research into the maritime and marine historic environment of England, which will enable long-term strategic planning,  inform policy and provide a statement of agreed research priorities within which researchers can shape and seek funding for projects. 

In order for this to be both a successful reflection of the current state of knowledge and a vehicle by which the key research questions for this diverse community can be identified, it is essential that all those involved in the maritime, marine or coastal archaeology of England, from the academic, commercial and voluntary sectors, are involved in its creation. To this end, we are inviting as many stakeholders as possible to be involved in the process. In addition, there will be public consultation on each element of the framework.

Developing a Resource Assessment and Research Agenda:

The project involves an assessment of our current state of knowledge on a period-by-period or thematic basis (the resource assessment) and production of a research agenda outlining the gaps in our knowledge, strengths to build upon and identifying future avenues of research. 

The resource assessment process and the subsequent development of a research agenda will be driven by working groups.  Each working group, comprised of 5-6 members and two chairs.  The resource assessment and research agenda documents produced by the working groups will be open to public consultation through these webpages, and in addition a targeted consultation group of 'critical friends' (experts and practitioners in the field) will be recruited to comment in detail on them.  After consultation these will be drawn together into one Maritime and Marine Historic Environment Resource Assessment and Research Agenda for England, ready for publication in July 2010.

Working Groups and Chairs:
Working groups Chairs
Palaeolithic Prof Geoff Bailey
Dr Kieran Westley

Mesolithic

Prof Martin Bell
Dr Graeme Warren
Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Dr Fraser Sturt
Prof Robert van de Noort
Late Bronze Age and Iron Age Dr Jeremy Hill
Dr Steve Willis
Roman Gustav Milne
Dr Mick Walsh
Dr Pete Wilson
Early Medieval Prof Martin Carver
Dr Chris Lovelock
Medieval Dr Jon Adams
Dr Joe Flatman
Post-Medieval and Early Modern Kevin Camidge
Dr Virginia Dellino-Musgrave
Modern Dave Parham
Mark Beattie-Edwards
Methods, Technologies, Visualisation and Dissemination Dr Justin Dix
John Gribble
Archaeological Archives and Collections Julie Satchell
Duncan Brown

Key Project Dates and Getting Involved:

The ‘Working Group Workshop’ was held on July 9th-10th in Winchester. During the workshop we established the Framework's structure and details of the Resource Assessment and Research Agenda documents, and held start-up meetings for each working group. Details of each groups planned Resource Assessment documents will be posted soon.

The next key dates are early next year:

  • The Resource Asessment documents produced by each Working Group will go online for consultation in February/March 2010; and,
  • The final Project Conference, when the Resource Assessment will be presented and the Research Agenda agreed, will be on Saturday May 1st 2010 and is open to all.

 

If you are interested in participating or would like further project details, please contact Jesse Ransley at framework@soton.ac.uk 

Or alternatively, the Project Design is available for download as a pdf from the list on left of this page.