Southampton Institute for Arts and Humanities: Digital Infrastructure & Capability
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Southampton
Department Name: Sch of Humanities
Abstract
The University of Southampton is home to world class collections, from physical archives of historical documents (e.g the Mountbatten, Palmerston and Wellington papers), through material cultures (ceramics, lithics and osteological material) to born-digital data on cultural heritage sites (from 3D to 4D surface and subsurface data) on land as well as underwater. These resources are drawn on by an international group of scholars from a range of disciplines, as well as industry and NGO groups. The collections are curated, conserved and generated through a suite of infrastructure resources and staff capabilities spread across the university.
This work has seen the creation of a range of significant cultural resources; from Roman Amphorae, to models of sea-level change and cultural response to providing instruction and quality assurance for major European cultural heritage and education projects developing 3D capabilities for the Museums sector. In turn we have innovated techniques and tools to help drive the digital revolution forward into new sectors and environments. The university has worked collaboratively and across disciplines with collections and organisations across the heritage, conservation and, increasingly, the cultural and creative industries. We have partnered with bodies such as Heritage England, Historic England. Historic Environment Scotland and the National Trust as well as national museusms such as the British Museum, National Museum of Scotland and the Mary Rose Trust.
This project allows us to refresh and build upon our capacity in such innovative and cross-disciplinary work in three specific areas. The replacement of our equipment will allow us to continue to investigate and digitise a wide range of maritime and terrestrial landscapes and the built environment. It will allow us to investigate and digitise a range of portable material cultures and paper-based archives, both our own collections and those of our significant existing partners. The replacement of our capacities to handle and visualise data and materials will allow us to continue to advance our research and to engage organisations and publics in innovative and field-defining ways as we do so.
The project also coincides and supports the launch of an ambitious agenda at the University of Southampton. The new Southampton Institute for Arts and Humanities, SIAH, promotes and broadens the capacities of our research and enterprise cultures. Our new digital strategy is a key driver in this first year and it matches essential internal investment in new Digital Humanities Labs and staff with a plan to more closely manage, and pool, our significant but dispersed digital skills and resources. The strategy will enable us to lead on high quality large-scale interdisciplinary and outward facing projects. The bid accords with this far-reaching but discipline-agnostic agenda. It provides researchers with the skills and digital tools that will allow them to continue to produce research that will support the creative, cultural and heritage sectors whilst also informing the major challenges of our time.
This work has seen the creation of a range of significant cultural resources; from Roman Amphorae, to models of sea-level change and cultural response to providing instruction and quality assurance for major European cultural heritage and education projects developing 3D capabilities for the Museums sector. In turn we have innovated techniques and tools to help drive the digital revolution forward into new sectors and environments. The university has worked collaboratively and across disciplines with collections and organisations across the heritage, conservation and, increasingly, the cultural and creative industries. We have partnered with bodies such as Heritage England, Historic England. Historic Environment Scotland and the National Trust as well as national museusms such as the British Museum, National Museum of Scotland and the Mary Rose Trust.
This project allows us to refresh and build upon our capacity in such innovative and cross-disciplinary work in three specific areas. The replacement of our equipment will allow us to continue to investigate and digitise a wide range of maritime and terrestrial landscapes and the built environment. It will allow us to investigate and digitise a range of portable material cultures and paper-based archives, both our own collections and those of our significant existing partners. The replacement of our capacities to handle and visualise data and materials will allow us to continue to advance our research and to engage organisations and publics in innovative and field-defining ways as we do so.
The project also coincides and supports the launch of an ambitious agenda at the University of Southampton. The new Southampton Institute for Arts and Humanities, SIAH, promotes and broadens the capacities of our research and enterprise cultures. Our new digital strategy is a key driver in this first year and it matches essential internal investment in new Digital Humanities Labs and staff with a plan to more closely manage, and pool, our significant but dispersed digital skills and resources. The strategy will enable us to lead on high quality large-scale interdisciplinary and outward facing projects. The bid accords with this far-reaching but discipline-agnostic agenda. It provides researchers with the skills and digital tools that will allow them to continue to produce research that will support the creative, cultural and heritage sectors whilst also informing the major challenges of our time.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Fraser Sturt (Principal Investigator) | |
| Nicky Marsh (Co-Investigator) |
Publications
BLANKSHEIN S
(2023)
Neolithic Crannogs in the Outer Hebrides (and Beyond?): Synthesis, Survey, and Dating
in Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society
Karamitrou A
(2023)
Identification of Black Reef Shipwreck Sites Using AI and Satellite Multispectral Imagery
in Remote Sensing
| Title | Postcard Pilot |
| Description | We joined visual content from the University library collections with aural content held by Southampton City Archives to create 6 pieces for the Museum in a Box. Postcards of Holyrood Church link to selections from oral histories, demonstrating the value of this technology for joining up archival resources held across the city to create accessible and evocative narrative experiences. We made a five minute film for the immersive cylinder purchased as part of the CapCo grant, that features the postcard as a research object. The film places archival objects in relation to digital renderings, soundscapes, a spoken narrative, and oral history content to create a pilot immersive experience. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Impact | The work was achieved through knowledge exchange between the University, Southampton City Archives, Gods House Tower (A Space Arts), and a media company (Art as Media). The work tested the expertise, time and technology necessary to create content for this space - opening that up to the community beyond the University. The pilot material can be used in engagement and outreach activities, and models the creation of content through knowledge exchange between University and local archives, and arts and heritage organisations. |
| Title | Waves of |
| Description | Waves of (2019) is a 15-minute work for 21+ performers, optional conductor and electronic diffusion system. The piece is principally concerned with the choreographic implications of spatialised sound in live performance - what happens when sound's interaction with its physical space is a subject of compositional focus. Bodies and instruments must move to enact this spatialisation and, once this is established, the physical, theatrical and visual components of it open themselves up to further compositional exploration and organisation. This was adapted for use within the Igloo immersive space. |
| Type Of Art | Artwork |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | This changed the way the collaborators considered and understood the potential of immersive spaces for longer running and wider reaching audience engagement. |
| URL | https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/437351 |
| Description | This project has transformed the research capacity of Arts & Humanities at Southampton, and in so doing created a significant regional and national capability for others to draw on. The project requested funding to replace and update equipment that would enable research in three strategic areas: 1. Digitisation and investigation of portable material culture and paper-based archives 2. Digitisation and investigation of landscapes and the built environment 3. Data handling, visualisation and engagement The selection of these areas was based on; research strengths within the University, strategic fit to national needs and potential for innovation and development. Support of each of these three domains has already seen a significant increase in research capability and skilled specialists. This has permitted digitisation work of objects and paper-based archives within the University, the city and at national institutions (the British Museum). New insights have been gained into prehistoric and historic sites (both above and below water) through deploying cutting edge technology, and development of new techniques. We have seen development of methods to acquire and integrate 3 and 4D data from a range a sources. Analysis and visualisation of these data would not have been possible without the new computational and immersive capabilities afford by this grant. These capabilities have been shared with groups from national heritage agencies (Historic Environment Scotland) to local artists. The award has also accelerated development of the Southampton Institute for Arts and Humanities (SIAH), and with it the place of digital humanities within the University. SIAH, the Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute (SMMI), and the AHRC provided additional support to enable researchers to gain experience with new equipment and build networks. This has seen collaboration with the City Council and local Arts and Creative industry groups - opening up access to key archives and resources, creating new areas for research and addressing urgent needs with regards to conservation and monitoring. The above fall within the anticipated outcomes of the project - there was established expertise, but a need for new equipment to meet strategic demand. There have also been a range of additional outcomes that while hoped for it was not possible to confidently predict at the start. Through the course of this project, and its connection to other research, the demand for specialists with these and related skills has becoming increasingly apparent. The ability to feed knowledge of these capabilities into postgraduate and undergraduate training is of considerable value, helping to build that increased capability and capacity. In addition, through deliberately focusing on breaking down barriers between traditional disciplines, opening up access to these tools and methods, as well as providing introductory training, we have seen identification of new research questions and interests; from how we view and interact with data in different disciplines, to technicalities related to acquisitions and long-term storage. |
| Exploitation Route | The outcomes from this project have created a significant national facility for Arts & Humanities, as well as museums, galleries and archives-based research. These facilities can be directly engaged through collaboration, education and training. The digital assets created through work enabled by this project also open possibilities for creative response and re-use. |
| Sectors | Creative Economy Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) Education Environment Culture Heritage Museums and Collections |
| Description | This award is already having an economic and social impact. This can be most clearly seen in collaboration with local civic partners, arts and heritage groups. The increased capability and capacity to create digital twins, from built heritage to artistic work fed into the city's bid to be UK City of Culture in 2025. Within this, links between health, wellbeing and access to cultural resources was firmly established, and was been written into the city's new cultural strategy. Subsequent to winning the UK City of Culture, the heritage documentation work has continued to be carried out. Beyond this, strong connections have been made with local creative industries looking at opening up access to resources and creating new opportunists for collaborative research. There has also been a significant academic impact with the University, with the Southampton Institute for the Arts and Humanities and the facilities created through this grant creating a new focal point for interdisciplinary research. This has seen an erosion of disciplinary boundaries and accelerated adoption/engagement with digital themes. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2020 |
| Sector | Creative Economy,Education,Environment,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural Societal Economic Policy & public services |
| Description | 'Unpath'd Waters': Marine and Maritime Collections in the UK |
| Amount | £2,908,923 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | AH/W003384/1 |
| Organisation | Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2021 |
| End | 10/2024 |
| Description | AHRC Impact Acceleration Award |
| Amount | £450,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2022 |
| End | 03/2025 |
| Description | Discovery |
| Amount | £20,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Higher Education Innovation Funding (HEIF) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2023 |
| End | 07/2024 |
| Description | Out of Site - Impact Accelerator Account award |
| Amount | £20,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2024 |
| End | 01/2025 |
| Description | Reimagining Knitting: a community perspective |
| Amount | £23,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 12/2021 |
| End | 06/2022 |
| Description | Water Penetrating Radar |
| Amount | £6,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | SRG22\220095 |
| Organisation | The British Academy |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2023 |
| End | 04/2024 |
| Title | Crannogs of the Outer Hebrides |
| Description | Photogrammetic and lidar models of over 30 lochs and crannogs in the Outer Hebrides. Outputs will be added to CANMORE over the course of the project and archived in an open and accessible manner with the Archaeological Data Service at the end of the project. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | These data have been used to improve identification and analysis of Crannog sites in the Outer Hebrides. |
| Title | Geophysical Survey of Iron Age and Roman site at Kingston Maurward, Dorset |
| Description | Geophysical Survey of Iron Age and Roman site at Kingston Maurward, Dorset using GPR and magnetometry. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | These data have been used to update the historic environment record. |
| Title | Laser Scanning of Horton type Neolithic house at Butser Ancient Farm |
| Description | Laser scan of Horton type neolithic house at Butler Ancient Farm |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | These data will be be used to understand change through time at the site, enabling management and additional research. |
| Title | Laser scans of Southampton's Medieval Buildings |
| Description | This dataset includes laser scans of some of the most important Medieval buildings in Southampton, including: the Bargate , The Tudor Merchant's House, St Michael's Church, the Woolhouse, the Weigh House, Westgate, the castle walls and bailey, inc. Castle Vault and garderobe tower, King John's Palace, God's House Tower as well as the vaults, inc Lankesters, Undercroft, Castle Vault, Weigh House Vault, No 88, No 94, Gloucester Square Vault, Castle Way Vaults. This dataset is stored as .e57 files as well as original scans. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This dataset is being used to help with the conservation and management of these assets. |
| Title | Structured light scans of artefacts related to Frank Oates, held at the Gilbert White's House museum |
| Description | Structured light scans of artefacts related to Frank Oates, held at the Gilbert White's House museum as part of the Decolonising Victorian histories: Frank Oates, geographic exploration and teaching imperial history and environmental science project. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This has created the first digital record of these artefacts, opening up possibilities for conservation and data sharing. |
| URL | https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FW008866%2F1 |
| Title | Structured light scans of museum artefacts |
| Description | Over 130 artefacts from Southampton City Museum have been digitised through use of structured light scanners and photogrammetry. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | These data are being used to provide case studies for exploring routes to open collections for people to engage with online, as well as providing a record of condition and data source for analytical work. |
| Description | Digital Twins for cultural heritage |
| Organisation | Southampton City Council |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | We have worked with the city council to digitise physical assets (both built heritage and archival material). |
| Collaborator Contribution | Partners have made sites available, provided expert input with regards to conservation and heritage management as well as discussing strategies for future work. |
| Impact | We have created 3D datasets of key heritage assets, as well produced rich media in relation to archival material. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Forestry Commission |
| Organisation | Forestry Commission |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Provision of survey expertise and equipment. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Provision of challenge, access to sites and equipment |
| Impact | Academic publications, grant applications |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | RRS Discovery |
| Organisation | National Oceanography Centre |
| Department | RRS Discovery |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Scanning of the RSS Discovery and associated assets |
| Collaborator Contribution | Provision of access to assets, partnership on interpretation. |
| Impact | 3D Digital archive, interactive media and academic publications. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | A talk to the SEASIDE conference, Sweden |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A talk was given to an international group of marine and maritime researchers, looking at integrating environmental and archaeological data. The key impacts that arose were discussion of future collaboration and comparison of results. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Archaeological Landscapes, Survey Techniques and Non-Intrusive Approaches. Recent Fieldwork by the Department of Archaeology, University of Southampton |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Talk delivered to the Chichester and District Archaeological Society |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Day of the Dead |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This activity saw the use of the Igloo immersive space to offer a different insight into the Day of the Dead celebrations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.thinglink.com/mediacard/1511261579922898946 |
| Description | Drones for data aquisition |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This training event looked at the equipment procured as part of the CapCo grant, its applications, legislation impact on its use and best practice. Eight members of staff attended, with additional training activities identified for the future. These familiarisation workshops are essential for increasing awareness of the research tools and methods at our disposal. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Hands on Humanities |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Data generated through CapCo equipment was presented to the public through two different workshops, a virtual tour of Southampton and visiting an excavation of crannog, plus flying a virtual drone to collect survey data. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | IGLOO and immersive visualisation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | An introduction to visualising data and creative processes in an immersive environment. Participants learnt how to use the Igloo: a 360 degree immersive audio-visual centre. Examples were given of ongoing work that uses the technology. Participants got to explore the technology and ask questions about how it relates/could relate to their fields of expertise and interests. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | IGLOO training |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This workshop introduced participants to equipment acquired through the CapCo grant and the potential of immersive technologies. This deliberately targeted people who might not have thought of using this sort of equipment or how it might relate to their research. The result was considerable interest and ongoing conversations as to how data visualisation can impact on interpretation and, more broadly, the role of digital humanities within current research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | IKUWA 2022 Conference presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A talk was given to the IKUWA 2022 conference on the islands of stone project. Over 100 people attended, with detailed questions on methods and findings. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.nauticalarchaeologysociety.org/ikuwa |
| Description | Laser Scanning and photogrammetry workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Training was given on the use of laser scanners for built environment and small object scanning. This was coupled with an introduction to photogrammetry and RTI, along with discussion of when each method may be appropriate. Over fifty individuals engaged with the training, which also produced data on local heritage assets. This helped to widen knowledge of the systems we now have access to, increasing research opportunities for the future. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Members talk to English Heritage members on Geophysics at Old Sarum |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Members talk to English Heritage members on Geophysics at Old Sarum |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Old Sarum and its Environs: Recent Research and Future Directions |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Talk given at the Salisbury Museum as part of the Tale of Two Cities conference 23rd and 24th April 2022 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Paper presenting results of laser scanning and geophysical survey project focused on Medieval Southampton |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Paper presenting results of laser scanning and geophysical survey project focused on Medieval Southampton to the local archaeology society. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | http://www.southamptonarchaeology.uk/ |
| Description | RTI data aquisition |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Training was given in the new RTI equipment, looking at its operation and use, as well as potential research applications. The audience largely comprised those with a basic understanding of the technology, but whom were keen to better understand ints potential. Following the success of this workshop future activities were planned. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Southampton Science and Engineering Festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The Southampton Science and Engineering Festival bring together research outputs and activities for people to engage with. An augmented reality tour of the heritage assets of Southampton was delivered, through data created via CapCo equipment. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Students help create historic encounters |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | School engagement using Museum in a Box |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://cliftonbridge.org.uk/students-help-create-historic-encounters/ |
| Description | Workshop: 3D and 4D data generation in heritage contexts |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | An event was held in Southampton to introduce participants to key approaches (and equipment available) for recording materials at a range of scales and how time is/can be incorporated. Applications for fields across Arts and Heritage were discussed. Participants asked questions and related the potential use for their particular research interests/areas of expertise. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |