The international collaborative research project entitled ArCHe – Archaeological Coastal Heritage: Past, present and future of a hidden prehistoric legacy will train ten PhD candidates to explore Europe's coastal cultural heritage and to develop best practice innovation solutions for preserving it. The project, which is being coordinated by the Museum of Cultural History (KHM), will focus on archaeological finds from the hunter- gatherer communities that lived along the coast of Europe during the Stone Age (about 12,000-2,000 BCE). These contain some of the oldest traces of people in Europe.
"It is very difficult to pass through the eye of the needle with these types of Marie Curie awards and we are proud of Almut Schülke who has made it possible! The award contributes towards KHM's strong position in the top European ranks of these fields of research, dissemination and cultural heritage management," says Museum Director Håkon Glørstad.
Traditionally the research conducted on these Stone Age coastal communities has been regional in nature because Europe's coastal landscapes are so different. Under ArCHe, on the other hand, regional similarities and differences will be compared in order to identify differences, find common traits and create synergies across Europe.
"For example, Norway has the greatest number of stone artefact finds, while the conditions in other coastal areas of Europe are better for preserving bones or other organic materials. By linking research from these areas together, we can find new and important knowledge about the Stone Age," says Almut Schülke, who will be the project manager for the forthcoming PhD network, which will be coordinated at KHM.
"We will educate young researchers who, from an international, interdisciplinary and not least practice-oriented perspective, will contribute towards preserving this European coastal cultural heritage for generations to come. This is a highly interesting project, we are excited to start working on it!” continues Almut, who is a professor at the Department of Archaeology at the Museum of Cultural History.
Environmental and climate perspective
In addition to conducting research on the Stone Age, the PhD candidates will also study how Stone Age finds and sites in coastal areas are managed today, as part of lived cultural landscapes, how natural and man-made changes affect this fragile cultural heritage and how we should manage it in the future in order to highlight and take the best possible care of it. This affects many groups and individuals in society, ranging from local populations to businesses, tourism, administrative bodies and nature and cultural conservation organisations.
Were humans more sustainable during the Stone Age than today? How did humans deal with these coastal areas back then, how do we do it today and can we learn from the past? Increased knowledge about the Stone Age will provide a greater understanding of ourselves today.
About ArCHe
Ten PhD positions will be announced under the ArCHe project. Mobility is an important aspect of Marie Curie grants and ArCHe’s future PhD candidates will undertake practical work and embark on exchange visits across national borders with the project's partners.
ArCHe consists of fifteen academic and non-academic organisations from six European countries – France, Spain, Latvia, Sweden, Estonia and Norway. Six of these – the University of Cantabria, the University of Latvia, the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), the University of Gothenburg, the Fundación Instituto de Hidráulica Ambietal de Cantabria and the Museum of Cultural History – will house the ten PhD candidates.