This project aims to unlock the potential, for scholarly and public benefit, of the outstanding collections of Fijian art, material culture and associated archives and photographs held in UK and other museums. Originating from Britain's voyaging, missionary and colonial ties with Fiji, these extensive collections, hitherto neglected, will be systematically researched, analysed and made the focus of major publications, exhibitions and outreach activities. \n\nFijian artworks are visually impressive and beautifully made; they include sculptures in wood and ivory, shell and ivory regalia, ritual equipment, weapons, pottery and large decorated textiles. Central to pre-Christian and post-conversion religious practices, and often heavily Tongan-influenced, many of these objects played an active role in relations with the British, resulting in significant collections in UK museums. Foremost are the Fijian collections at the University of Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (MAA), probably the most important in the world. With over 2,500 objects, 2000+ photographs, diaries, field notes and drawings, they include items from all periods of Fijian history since the late 18th century as well as extensive material from the early colonial period (1870s-90s). Other outstanding collections are in the British Museum, Pitt Rivers Museum Oxford, World Museum Liverpool, National Museum of Scotland and Maidstone Museum, while major overseas collections are in Paris, Salem, the Smithsonian Institution and the Fiji Museum. All 9 museums are collaborating with the project as official Project Partners. Many regional UK museums (in Aberdeen, Exeter, Ipswich, Birmingham and elsewhere) will also participate; the National Archives will also be a valuable resource. \n\nBuilding on the specialist expertise of project staff, working in partnership with UK and overseas museums (including the Fiji Museum), the project will:\n\n- Provide the first comprehensive history of Fijian art.\n- Contribute greater understanding of the enduring potency of Fijian artworks and exchange valuables.\n- Extend theoretical perspectives on the nature of exchange, and of object/person relations more widely, including analyses of gender, embodiment, equivalence, shrines and relics.\n- Provide a nuanced history of collecting which will illuminate complex and shifting Fijian/British relations, especially during the early colonial period (1870s-90s).\n- Elucidate trends in British intellectual and academic history through analysis of field collecting in Fiji and its implications for the development in Britain of major museums and the discipline of anthropology.\n- Enhance existing museum documentation with expert identification and analysis of collections, while linking key museums internationally.\n- Improve the ability of museums to display and interpret their collections for multiple audiences.\n- Disseminate research results to diverse specialist and public audiences, including UK-based Fijians, through publications, symposia and several exhibitions with associated educational outreach activities. \n- Contribute to museum/academic training programmes by holding workshops/curators' forum, and by involving 40+ graduate students in project-related course assignments.\n- Contribute insights for policy makers into the importance for understanding contemporary Fijian politics of historically-rooted relationships between chiefdoms. \n\nThe project team, led by UEA's Professor Steven Hooper, a Fiji specialist and Fijian-speaker with over 30 years research experience, includes Dr Anita Herle, Senior Curator at MAA, who will oversee research on MAA's Fiji collections. Other participants include former and current Fiji Museum Directors Fergus Clunie and Sagale Buadromo, and MAA Director Professor Nicholas Thomas (a renowned Pacific specialist; chair of the project Advisory Committee); all will contribute to numerous publications, exhibitions and other outputs.

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.

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 envisioned 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 policies. To achieve these goals, the British Museum will collaborate with an interdisciplinary team of Egypt-based consultants and local stakeholders 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. To this means, 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, identifying and prioritizing meaningful ways of intervention and a documentation training mission. 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.

A multiscale X-ray imaging Centre will be established in the British Museum, with a unique range of capabilities in the heritage science sector. The Centre will comprise: (i) Our existing large-scale X-ray imaging laboratory, the X-radiography Suite (ii) A new high-resolution micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) laboratory. (iii) High-performance workstations for users to analyse and visualise data. (iv) An Access Manager to provide access to the Centre for the heritage science community. X-ray imaging is a fundamental technique in heritage science, providing a non-invasive way to look under the surface of archaeological and heritage collections. CT scanning (three-dimensional X-ray imaging) has limitations for different material types and/or object size, with instruments typically providing a trade-off between the size and density of object they can accommodate, and minimum feature size they can detect. The X-radiography Suite in the British Museum is capable of imaging large objects (e.g., sculptures, coffins), and its high-energy X-rays can be used to see inside stone and metal objects. A new micro-CT scanner, capable of microscopic-level X-ray examination of smaller and less dense material, will enhance and complement the capabilities of the X-radiography Suite. The Centre will provide a dynamic environment where objects can be scanned across both instruments, exploiting the relative benefits of each, and providing a single location in which diverse material assemblages can be imaged. The Centre will be used for a wide range of applications, including the examination of skeletal remains to research ancient health and disease; characterising the use of wood, textile and human/animal remains in crafted objects; the study of minerals, organic matter and production techniques in archaeological ceramics; understanding the manufacture and restoration of sculptures; and revealing hidden text from rolled scrolls. As well as research outputs, X-ray imaging has enormous potential for public engagement through visualisations displayed in exhibitions, gallery displays or online content. Currently there are barriers to X-ray imaging in heritage science, in the cost of purchasing or accessing equipment, staff capacity to facilitate access and staff expertise to interpret scans of complex objects. The British Museum is well-placed to complement the existing landscape of CT scanning institutions and frameworks in the UK: its scientists and curators have world-leading knowledge of heritage collections and are experienced in handling and examining cultural heritage material. The Museum has an established logistics infrastructure for the transport and secure storage of heritage assets, and a strong track record of utilising X-ray CT in academic publications and exhibitions in the UK and globally.

The extraction and mass spectrometric analysis of lipids from archaeological artefacts to gain information regarding the artefact is well established and beginning to be used to tackle high profile archaeological questions of international significance. To realise their full potential, such methods need to be applied to large numbers of artefacts (e.g. ceramic vessels) from a wide range of contexts and sites. However, LC- or derivatisation/GC-MS analyses of these extracts are time consuming and, since generally less than half of such extracts contain detectable lipid levels, often frustrating and wasteful. Consequently, a rapid, convenient, medium throughput approach to screening such extracts and obtaining structural information on their components would greatly facilitate analysis and allow prioritisation of samples for subsequent LC- or GC-MS analysis. DESI enables desorption and MS of analytes under ambient conditions directly from almost any surface. It is simple, sensitive, very rapid, and compatible with MS/MS approaches. We have recognised the potential of DESI-MS for archaeological applications, built a DESI source for our mass spectrometers, and shown its feasibility for lipid analysis from surfaces of typical archaeological materials. Although DESI analysis directly from artefact surfaces is appealing, it is rare that artefacts can be removed from museum collections to the MS lab for analysis. However, removal by experts of small samples of the surface of the ceramic, for extraction and GC- or LC- MS analysis is accepted. Preliminary data show successful direct DESI-MS/MS analysis of very small aliquots of such lipid extracts of archaeological ceramics, dried onto glass or into plastic 60-well plates, as well as DESI-FT-ICR-MS analysis of fatty acids in such extracts. This studentship will thus exploit the state-of-the-art mass spectrometers available in the high technology analytical facility, the York Centre of Excellence in Mass Spectrometry (CoEMS), to develop DESI-MS/MS for the rapid screening and first stage analysis of lipid extracts of archaeological artefacts. The student will optimise DESI-MS/MS for triacylgycerides, fatty acids and sterols in extracts desorbed from glass slides or multi-well plates, using medium and high resolution mass spectrometers, and determine limits of detection. We have archived over 500 lipid extracts from a wide range of ethnographic, historical and archaeological artefacts from different environments, and high temperature-GC and GC-MS data from all samples. The student will access this archive to optimise the approach, and test limits of detection. DESI-MS/MS will then be tested on selected extracts of the several hundred ceramic vessels from the Stonehenge World Heritage Site. Screening these extracts to identify samples for subsequent analysis by GC- and LC-MS will offer a massive saving in resources and investigator time, enabling deeper sampling and thus inference. Application to this high profile site will also 'showcase' the method and expose the student to the wider archaeological community and the media. The CoEMS provides a unique focus for a coherent and innovative programme of training for our PhD students in areas directly relevant to the NERC-RSC initiative, providing graduate level courses tailored specifically to the needs of PhD students working with high technology instrumentation. In addition to the outstanding networking and training opportunities of CoEMS, the student will belong to the Analytical Science and Environmental Chemistry research group, and gain enviable and unusual multidisciplinary training via membership of BioArCh, a joint venture of Archaeology, Biology and Chemistry at York. Our project partners are pioneers in the analysis of lipids from artefacts using established LC- and GC-MS approaches, and also represent the museum user community, further extending the unique training offered by this project.