The Western European Acheulean Project (WEAP) aims to characterize the occupational pattern of western Europe during the Middle Pleistocene (MP) –700 to 300Ka–, through the study of Acheulean technology. Recent research has shown that the Atlantic seaboard is the most likely route for colonisation due to the more oceanic climate compared to eastern Europe and to the richer range of resources in coastal areas. Due to cyclical changes in climate with glaciations and interglacials, northern Europe was frequently depopulated and then recolonized through this period probably from source areas in southern France and Iberia. This route-way should therefore bear witness to the cultural links between north and south. From 1 million to 600,000 years ago there is evidence of brief pioneering events in north-west Europe with a small number of sites and small numbers of stone tool artefacts. After 600,000 year ago more sustained occupation is shown by the increase in sites and the much large stone tool assemblages. They also show technological innovation in the form handaxes and possibly in the use of fire, clothing and shelter, which led to the first sustained occupation of northern latitudes. Although there has been much research and new sites excavated over the last twenty years, there has been little integration between the work in Spain, Britain and France. Based on the applicant’s previous experience, WEAP proposes to create a common method of analysis for the study of six Middle Pleistocene sites from UK and France –in agreement with three Middle Pleistocene technologists–, the use of the experimental technology to complete the archaeological record, and the use of new methodological approaches, such as the 3D scanning technology as the most appropriated statistical analysis, to improve understanding of behavioural patterns in order to build models of human dispersals from south-west to north-west Europe.

This research seeks a better understanding of the interaction between people and the Nile Valley ecosystem in northern Sudan, and how present-day and ancient peoples have found solutions for coping with a risky environment. Massive technological shifts are dramatically altering modes of food production and bringing about new environmental challenges. Recent years have seen relocation of populations from islands, colonisation of new areas of the Nile valley and implementation of new agricultural technologies. This study will create a long-term perspective of adaptive solutions and how these are relevant to the future. This will be achieved through case studies of agricultural and plant exploitation practices from ancient and present day Nile island settlements, set within the context of a temporal overview of subsistence systems from the archaeological record. Traditionally, islands have been important locations of settlement since there are fewer areas of wide floodplain suited to traditional agriculture (in comparison with Egypt). Amara West will provide an archaeological case study for exploring how subsistence systems in an ancient town were impacted by aridity. Once situated on an island, sediment studies show a subsidiary channel dried up towards the end of the 2nd millennium BC exposing the town to windblown sand (prompting architectural amendments) and reducing agricultural land. Analysis of archaeobotanical remains recovered from well preserved architecture and features such as ovens and grinding emplacements will allow chrono-stratigraphic assessment of subsistence change in relation to the onset of localised aridity. Car and electricity-free Ernetta, a Nile island 5km upstream, will provide a base-line to study present-day traditional Nubian foodways and exploitation of natural local resources. Findings will be contrasted with river bank settlements subject to greater development, in terms of agricultural technology, modern materials used for house building, and access to new road networks and imports. Contemporary subsistence data and that from Amara will be placed in a broader temporal overview to create a new perspective on agricultural risk management strategies and adaptive solutions, predominantly via review of subsistence related literature. Research will examine: Can archaeological evidence inform decisions and advice being given to develop sustainable farming practices in the present and future? Can comparisons of ancient and present-day traditional Nubian agricultural and plant exploitation practices inform us about risk management and sustainable strategies? Were agricultural practices and access to other natural resources effected by environmental change (including climate) in the distant and recent past? How are changing foodways and resource exploitation patterns connected with population dynamics, and import patterns? Research will record and promote local knowledge of sustainable resource exploitation as relevant to future natural resources management. A report will be authored (and translated into Arabic) for organisations and bodies related to sustainable livelihoods and agriculture. Research will be disseminated via conferences within and outside of academia, through peer-review papers with multi-disciplinary academic audiences, and to the wider general public, school children and academic audiences via the British Museum. British Museum outputs will include print and web media, and the development of new Key Stage 2 teacher resources. Research will support the British Museum's, and other UK government agencies', on-going work and training and cultural relations in the Arab Republic of Sudan, but will also position the Museum and University sector, with its understanding of human settlement patterns and subsistence strategies across a long timeframe, as a key stakeholder in the shaping for future strategies.

The current proposal aims to implement a new approach to fieldwork in Egypt by looking at the broad spectrum of history - up until the present day - at multi-layered sites, including efforts to preserve heritage rather than only researching it. The project will undertake and develop a sustainable conservation policy for archaeological sites using the Asyut region in Middle Egypt, and the village of Shutb in particular, as a case-study. Rather than merely looking upon archaeological sites as salvage missions or narrow-eyed academic pursuits, the project supports local interests to better the lives of local communities so that they can function as working partners in preserving the site. The employed methodology promotes (1) better integration of preservation and heritage management methodologies and specialists into archaeological fieldwork projects, (2) coordination and collaboration amongst different institutions and agencies concerned with heritage preservation, (3) engaging with local communities, local heritage professionals and other stakeholders through training and capacity building by hands-on experience and implementation of projects. To achieve these goals, the British Museum will collaborate with an interdisciplinary team of Cairo-based consultants, staff of Cambridge University and local stake holders to develop a set of protection measures in order to uphold Shutb's archaeological value, to prevent further decay of the historic fabric and to enhance the socio-economic (living) conditions of the inhabitants. Two seasons of fieldwork in Shutb will include a series of surveys and meetings to assess the impact and perception of the village's presence on the archaeological remains and identify and prioritise meaningful ways of intervention. Further efforts to engaged local communities will focus on capacity building through documentation and training linked to tangible results - seeking to enable the next generation of curators to have skills to deliver such documentation themselves. Such engagement will facilitate the education of local communities about the value of the archaeology beneath them. Many of the defined threats to heritage also negatively affect people's health, such as proximity to garbage disposal and ground and water pollution. The gathered survey data will be used to define programmes to reduce and redirect garbage dumping and improve waste and water management systems of residential units to reduce ground pollution and increase personal health. Depending on the outcome of the community meetings and interviews; the project will develop solutions to the community's most pressing needs. Such an all-inclusive approach has never been tested in Egypt, where fieldwork has traditionally been physically and intellectually separated from the surrounding environment and communities. It is, however, an opportune moment to develop more sustainable methodologies as ancient tells are at risk from the forces of nature and the impact of social, political, and economic change. Through collaboration with the Ministry of Antiquities, the impact of the established methodology can be accelerated if implemented at other sites or -even more fundamentally- incorporated into governmental strategies.