Archaeology

We have created a powerful and distinctive research identity which blends cultural archaeology with cutting edge science.

Our field and lab-based projects have a global reach, including work in Mediterranean Europe, western Asia, the North Atlantic and South America.

In 2021, we were awarded the coveted Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education for world-leading work in developing archaeological technology and techniques and influence on practice, policy and society.

Our research is funded by a wide range of sources, including:

UK Research Councils,
the European Commission,
government agencies like English Heritage and Historic Scotland,
major charities such as the Leverhulme Trust and the Gates Foundation.

research video

Research Projects

Building Resilience Through Heritage

Working with displaced communities and their heritage to build cohesion and improve mental health.

Continuing bonds: dying to talk

Exploring the use of archaeological case studies in opening up conversations around death and dying in the present.

image of some eroding built heritage in Tanzania

Reimagining Tanzania’s Townscape Heritage

Innovative digital heritage research to enhance inclusive engagement.

'Unpath'd Waters'

Marine and Maritime Collections in the UK

People, Heritage & Place: Using Heritage to Enhance Community and Well-being in Saltaire, Bradford

The project will develop an exact 3D representation of Saltaire, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS) and historic suburb of Bradford, linked to the City along the route of the former Bradford Branch of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal via a Greenway.

This Digital Twin of Saltaire and its linking route will be used to explore placemaking and inform the management of heritage assets and engagement of public audiences, and will link up with the existing Virtual Bradford model.

Expanding on the strong working relationship between the University and the Council, new partners from education, community groups and refugee action groups will provide tangible avenues for citizen engagement in strategic development and planning.

The partners share a common vision that health and wellbeing of our young people is rooted in community, belonging and place. Bradford was the first UNESCO City of Film and is one of only five UK cities to have a UNESCO WHS within the district.

Building on these rich and diverse heritage and cultural assets, the strong partnership between the University and the Council will focus on the value of place, and the potential for Saltaire. This will foster a strong sense of identity, belonging and civic pride across the wider Bradford District, as well as for those residents and stakeholders within the 19th Mill Village.

photo of a terrestrial laser scanner being used to scan the inside of a listed building at the world heritage site of Saltaire

North Atlantic Research

North Atlantic Research (NAR) formalises the research in the North Atlantic region carried out at the University of Bradford since the early 1980s.

The team have worked on the publication of the Old Scatness/Jarlshof Environs Project, and excavating on Rousay as part of the 'Orkney Gateway to the Atlantic' project.