A team of archaeologists and heritage scientists from Ireland at UC Cork, NUI Galway and in the UK at the University of Bradford and University of Aberdeen have been awarded an IRC-AHRC Digital Humanities grant to develop a research project called ‘Hidden Heritages’. The aim of this project is to explore new and innovative ways of communicating hidden archaeological monuments and heritage landscapes to different audiences using advanced digital technologies.
Led by Dr Katharina Becker (UCC) and Professor Andrew Wilson (Bradford), the team, in collaboration with partners in the heritage sector and creative industries will explore the potential of archaeological landscapes, monuments and cultural heritage more generally to enrich people’s lives. The team will address the challenges of revealing, interpreting and communicating the hidden aspects of archaeological landscapes, monuments and associated artefacts (spanning prehistory to the late medieval period) using cutting-edge digital documentation and visualisation.
Central to the aim of the project is a focus on outreach – developing innovative and effective means of communication, ensuring accessibility to a socially diverse and inclusive public audience. Digital technologies will be used for a range of contrasting heritage sites in different landscape settings, including: Rathgall hillfort, Co Wicklow – a ceremonial centre in the Late Bronze Age; and at various sites within the cultural landscape of the Burren, Co Clare – Turlough Hill, a place of Neolithic and Bronze Age gatherings, Caherconnell, a long-lived medieval settlement enclosure; and at Killmallock, Co Limerick – one of the Irish Walled Towns.
