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 Data Service (HSDS) supports this work as part of the RICHeS programme—the UK’s Research Infrastructure for Conservation and Heritage Science—providing digital tools that advance how we study and protect our heritage treasures.

As the Arts and Humanities Research Council explains, heritage science applies “scientific techniques and technologies to improve our understanding, conservation, management and engagement with cultural heritage.” 

The National Heritage Science Forum emphasizes that heritage science includes “all technological and scientific work that can benefit the cultural heritage sector,” improving management decisions and deepening our understanding of cultural significance. 

What makes heritage science special is how it brings together experts from different fields. Archaeologists collaborate with physicists, conservators work with computer scientists, and materials specialists partner with art historians to solve complex preservation challenges.

The results are impressive: new materials support painting conservation, while chemical analysis of archaeological artifacts reveals insights into ancient lives. Advanced imaging technologies help researchers uncover hidden details in historic documents that would otherwise remain invisible. 

An X-Ray of a cremation burial. Crossrail – Museum of London Archaeology

For real-world examples of these techniques in action, the National Heritage Science Forum offers a variety of fascinating case studies, which are linked to below: 

• Repurposing heritage science technology for neonatal intensive care
• Solving a 12,000-year-old medical mystery – Heritage science sheds light on three mysterious stones found in a 12,000-year-old human skeleton
• Exploring protected shipwrecks – Using 3D mapping and digitisation technology to create virtual dive trails for historic shipwreck sites
• Unlocking Leonardo – Advanced spectroscopic imaging techniques reveal a completely different drawing underneath Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘The Virgin of the Rocks’
• Climate Change Monitoring at Neolithic Orkney

To learn more about heritage science and how it safeguards our cultural treasures, visit the Help and Guidance pages on the HSDS website.