Heritage Science Data Service
The Heritage Science Data Service provides core digital research services as part of the RICHeS programme, the UK’s Research Infrastructure for Conservation and Heritage Science. The HSDS will unlock potential for innovation in heritage science and conservation research and its capacity to advance understanding, preservation, and management of UK heritage.
Find out more
Latest News & Events
See all
What is Heritage Science? Using Science to better understand the past
Heritage science uses scientific methods to understand, preserve, and share our cultural heritage. The...
Heritage Science Strategic Framework: Collaborative Planning Workshop
Several weeks ago, members of the HSDS and ADS team recently participated in a...
Launch of the RICHeS Project
At the beginning of October, members of the Archaeology Data Service (ADS) and Heritage...
The HSDS arises from the award of £14.4M under the AHRC’s Research Infrastructure for Conservation and Heritage Science (RICHeS) Programme. The primary aim of the HSDS is to provide comprehensive digital research services that empower arts and humanities professionals, heritage experts and scientists. It will achieve this through:
- establishing a catalogue of research facilities, reference collections and expertise
- serving as an aggregating platform to make data collections easy to navigate
- creating a FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) repository for research data to encourage accessibility and long-term preservation
- creating a suite of Virtual Research Environments and software tools to allow researchers to visualise and analyse data.
By improving digital access to this data, the HSDS aims to unlock its full research potential and impact across the heritage sector. The project runs for 5 years (2024-29) and is developed by a consortium of key UK heritage bodies covering England, Scotland and Wales.
Project partners