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Launch of the HSDS

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The Heritage Science Data Service (HSDS) is thrilled to announce its official launch!

The aim of the HSDS is to unlock potential for innovation in heritage science and conservation research and its capacity to advance understanding, preservation, and management of UK heritage.  This service is possible due to an award of £14.4 million under the AHRC’s Research Infrastructure for Conservation and Heritage Science (RICHeS) Programme.

The need for a Heritage Science Data Service arose from the acknowledgement that heritage science and conservation research has significant digital infrastructure requirements due to its unique multidisciplinary nature. As a discipline it utilises a range of technologies which include: digital imaging (3D laser scanning, X-ray, infrared, XRF scanning etc), remote sensing (LiDAR, geophysics), 3D modelling, dating (dendrochronology, C14) and many others. Many of these complementary methods are used in tandem, generating numerous datasets at large scales that require active data management to ensure long-term preservation and re-use. These datasets are  primary resources, generally born-digital, which cannot be reacquired. It is therefore essential they are managed and curated according to the FAIR data principles.

The HSDS is developed and managed by the Archaeology Data Service, the leading repository in the UK for archaeology and historic environment data, in partnership with STFC Hartree Centre, a high-performance computing, data analytics and AI research facility. The HSDS brings together a consortium of organisations from across England, Scotland, and Wales, including  the British Museum, British Geological Survey, The National Gallery, The National Archives, Natural History Museum, Historic England, Historic Environment Scotland, Flax and Teal, Kartography CIC, Manchester Metropolitan University, National Heritage Science Forum, and Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales.

Over the next five years we will:

  • establish a catalogue of research facilities, reference collections and expertise 
  • serve as an aggregating platform to make data collections easy to navigate 
  • create a FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) repository for research data to encourage accessibility and long-term preservation 
  • create a suite of Virtual Research Environments and software tools to allow researchers to visualise and analyse data.

The HSDS team looks forward to sharing more of our achievements through our website, the ADS and RICHeS Newsletters, and our social media. 

For more information please contact the HSDS via the contact details in the footer of our website.