Archaeological Coastal Heritage: Past, present and future of a hidden prehistoric legacy

Project Information

ArCHe

Grant agreement ID: 101119258

DOI

10.3030/101119258

EC signature date 10 July 2023

Start date 1 January 2024

End date 31 December 2027

Funded under

• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)

Total cost

No data

EU contribution

€ 2 737 461,60

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITETET I OSLO
Norway

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ArCHe (Archaeological Coastal Heritage: Past, present and future of a hidden prehistoric legacy)

Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2025-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Coastal zones all over the world face growing pressure from climate change and development, with archaeological sites in these areas at increasing risk.
The HORIZON MSCA Doctoral network ArCHe addresses the increasing vulnerability of the material remains of Stone Age coastal hunter-fisher-gatherer (HFG) societies (c. 12,000–2,000 BCE) across Europe and places the relevance of this heritage on the agenda. It is exposed to diverse challenges: Sites and remains are submerged in some areas and preserved inland in others due to different regional geological processes, which also result in diverse preservation conditions. In addition, most sites consist of fragile remains that are not visible on the surface. Hence, this heritage is unevenly researched, differently managed and often insufficiently integrated into spatial planning and public awareness.
To face these challenges ArCHe applies an innovative past-present-future approach by combining the humanities, earth sciences, life sciences and social sciences. This aims at 1) researching past hunter-fisher-gatherers in their coastal environments, 2) studying how this knowledge comes into being in the present, and 3) developing better practices for the sustainable integration of this legacy into future awareness and landscapes.
A central objective is to train ten doctoral candidates (DCs) in an international, interdisciplinary and intersectoral network, including academic and non-academic joint training and individual research projects. Expertise from diverse disciplines is combined, to investigate both past human–coastal interactions and the societal and environmental context in which this heritage is managed and communicated. Collaboration with museums, filmmakers, the heritage sector and coastal protection actors allow for the development of applied practices and shared approaches to coastal heritage research and management including the communication to a broad range of audiences.
By positioning Stone Age HFG coastal heritage as a resource for understanding long-term human–environment relations, ArCHe will impact awareness and governance of Europe’s coastal landscapes amid accelerating environmental change and development, and their sustainable integration.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

ArCHe has established a collaborative framework for doctoral training on Europe’s archaeological coastal heritage.
Major milestones were the establishment of effective project management and the recruitment of ten DCs based at six beneficiaries in five countries. In their ongoing individual research projects allocated to four scientific work packages and supported by supervisory teams, the DCs investigate central aspects of Stone Age coastal heritage, uniting diverse disciplines, perspectives and methodologies. These include mapping coastal landscapes and environmental threats, past coastal settlement dynamics, technology and marine resource use, and heritage management.
Further, ArCHe has to date successfully implemented its Joint Training Programme to convey scientific and general research skills, methodological development, transferable and practical skills drawing on the broad expertise of the consortium and supervisors. International secondments, many of them already accomplished, further strengthen research, intersectoral and applied professional skills.
Thus, the DC projects generate complementary knowledge and identify synergies between projects providing a comparative European perspective, supported by stays at network partners to study comparative regions and material.
The project has already advanced scientific integration by bringing together research status, data and methods from coastal areas with diverse environmental and cultural histories, as evidenced by the first scientific deliverables and one publication. This comparative approach strengthens the basis for future past-present-future research on prehistoric coastal societies. Through teaching events the awareness of the project’s past-present-future dimension and its relevance for the respective projects has been strengthened.
ArCHe is progressing with a robust project structure and research activities underway across all thematic areas.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

ArCHe moves towards its innovative goals, so far disseminated to diverse scientific communities through 15 talks at international conferences, one publication, and three public scientific deliverables addressed at a broad range of stakeholders.
Through work in the individual research projects archaeological coastal heritage research is developed by addressing long-standing fragmentation in research and management practices, overcoming regional boundaries which hitherto have limited systematic comparison.
The shared framework links diverse coastal regions, allowing for systematic comparison of regional case studies and advancing a more holistic understanding of prehistoric human–coastal interactions. This marks an important methodological development, also by comparing strengths and weaknesses of existing data and applicable methods in the different regions.
Overall, ArCHe’s long-term perspective and its interdisciplinary structure connects the study of past lifeways with present perspectives and future heritage management challenges, supporting a comprehensive understanding of archaeological sites as elements of dynamic landscapes. The involvement of non-academic partners brings practical expertise and strengthens the translation of research into professional practice.
ArCHe has an encompassing outreach strategy, by mass media and dialogic communication. This includes the innovative communication measure The Classroom of Europe, providing teaching material addressed at school children and their teachers across Europe.
Professionally, ArCHe trains early-career researchers as skilled future ambassadors to support capacity building for research, heritage management, the green and blue sector and communication. By establishing shared frameworks and strengthening professional networks, ArCHe work for a solid foundation for future research and practice.
Building on this ArCHe is expected to deliver scientific, professional and societal benefits which will have considerable social, economic/technological and societal impact. Scientifically the project will impact on the relevance of international, interdisciplinary and comparative projects and their applied perspective. In economic and technological terms, it will impact through the proposition of heritage and management tools, coastal engineering solutions, communication measures and the conveyance of past technologies to a variety of stakeholders in coastal regions. Socially it will integrate Stone Age HFG heritage into lived coastal landscapes and communities, and as such magnify cultural awareness, identity and well-being in coastal areas across Europe.

ArCHe MSCA DN participants at the Gulf of Riga coast, September 2024. Photo: C. Dupont (CNRS).