European Research Infrastructure for Heritage Science

European Research Infrastructure for Heritage Science
Name	European Research Infrastructure for Heritage Science
Abbreviation	ERIHS
Formation	2015
Type	Research infrastructure consortium
Headquarters	Riga, Latvia
Region served	Europe
Leader title	Director

European Research Infrastructure for Heritage Science is a pan-European research infrastructure consortium that coordinates access to facilities, expertise, and datasets for the study of cultural Heritage across museums, archives, and archaeological sites. It supports multidisciplinary investigations connecting conservation scientists, archaeologists, curators, and historians through transnational networks and shared services. ERIHS integrates physical laboratories, mobile units, and digital platforms to enable analysis of material culture and built heritage from sites such as Stonehenge, Pompeii, Lascaux, Acropolis of Athens, and collections in institutions like the British Museum, Louvre Museum, and Vatican Museums.

Overview

ERIHS provides coordinated access to laboratory facilities, mobile laboratories, and databases to enable scientific study of artefacts, monuments, and archival materials. Its remit intersects with institutions such as the European Commission, European Research Council, European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures, UNESCO, and national research agencies in countries including Italy, France, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom, Latvia, and Poland. ERIHS serves communities linked to projects like the Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, COST Programme, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, and national initiatives supported by organizations such as the Max Planck Society, CNRS, CNRS (France), and the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

History and Development

The initiative traces roots to collaborative networks and projects involving the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza, École Normale Supérieure, and the National Technical University of Athens. Early preparatory actions engaged research infrastructures such as CHARISMA Project, ATHENA, and the European Research Infrastructure Consortium framework, followed by formal steps aligned with roadmaps from the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures and policy discussions within the European Parliament. Founding partners included national bodies like the Instituto Superiore per la Conservazione ed il Restauro, Rijksmuseum, Institut national du patrimoine (France), and university departments at Utrecht University and University of Bologna.

Governance and Funding

ERIHS is governed by a board drawing representatives from member institutions such as the Latvian Academy of Sciences, Spanish National Research Council, Polish Academy of Sciences, National Research Council (Italy), and partner museums including the Museo Nacional del Prado and National Museum, Prague. Funding streams combine contributions from the European Commission research programmes, national ministries of culture and science in states like Greece, Belgium, and Sweden, and competitive grants from bodies including the Wellcome Trust, European Cultural Foundation, and private philanthropies linked to foundations such as the Carnegie Corporation and Getty Foundation.

Facilities and Services

ERIHS coordinates access to fixed laboratories in institutions such as the Tate Modern, Hermitage Museum, State Hermitage Museum, and university centres at the Technical University of Munich and University of Barcelona. Mobile capabilities include mobile X‑ray fluorescence vans used at sites like Knossos and mobile computed tomography services deployed alongside teams from the Institute of Archaeology (Poland) and Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki. Digital services include data repositories interoperable with platforms such as Europeana, Zenodo, and the Digital Cultural Heritage (DCH) infrastructures, and access to equipment like electron microscopes at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and synchrotron beamlines at facilities including the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility and DESY.

Research Areas and Projects

Research spans material characterization of paintings from the Uffizi Gallery, dendrochronology of timber at Medici Villa, conservation science for textiles from the Victoria and Albert Museum, and built heritage assessment of sites like the Alhambra and Chartres Cathedral. Projects address archaeological science methods used at Çatalhöyük, provenance studies utilising isotopic analysis carried out at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, and heritage risk assessment responding to events such as the 2016 Central Italy earthquakes and damage to monuments in Syria. ERIHS supports thematic initiatives linking to programmes like COST Action, the EUROMARINE community analogues, and collaborative outputs with research groups at the University of Leiden and Trinity College Dublin.

Collaborations and Partnerships

Partnerships encompass major museums, universities, national laboratories, and international organizations including ICOMOS, ICCROM, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, and the Council of Europe. Collaborations also involve consortia such as the Research Data Alliance, the International Council of Museums, and technical partnerships with facilities like the Paul Scherrer Institute and European Molecular Biology Laboratory. Regional collaborations include networks of conservation centres in Scandinavia, the Balkans, and the Baltic States coordinated with institutions like the Estonian Academy of Sciences.

Impact and Outreach

ERIHS contributes to conservation interventions for collections at the Prado, Rijksmuseum, and Hermitage, informs policy discussions at the European Parliament cultural committees, and supports training via fellowships modelled on Marie Curie Fellowships and summer schools run with partners such as King's College London and Sorbonne University. Public engagement activities include exhibitions at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, workshops with community stakeholders in Venice and Split, and digital storytelling through collaborations with Europeana and national broadcasting organizations like the BBC and Deutsche Welle.

Category:Research infrastructures Category:Cultural heritage preservation Category:Conservation science