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E-RIHS ERIC

European Research Infrastructure Heritage Science ERIC

Cultural heritage is an enormous source of cultural, societal, historic and economic wealth. It consists of archaeology, built monuments and collections. Heritage Science wants to understand better how cultural heritage was made and how it develops over time: which materials were used, where do these come from, how was the process of making, and who were the people that used it? And also: how does cultural heritage age over time, which processes have an effect on their lifecycle? And how can we use the infrastructure to mitigate these processes?

Website E-RIHS ERIC

Infrastructure and User Services

The research infrastructure for heritage science has both a national and an international component and consists of a wide range of experts and their technologies to research for instance organic and non-organic materials. It also relies on sample and reference collections and a great variety of databases. Isotope research is part of the portfolio, as is scanning electron microscopy. A lot of this research can be done within the Netherlands, but for fundamental particle research and other nuclear facilities, E-RIHS at large can access facilities in for instance France. Big data and AI are under construction and will help to understand materials but also communities, for instance via links with natural history and humanities. At the same time, we aim at developing more high-end equipment or software and extend the base of our research to feed into big data and have more data ready to use for researchers, also out of academia.

Examples/description of the type of research

Since we are dealing with several heritage domains (archaeology, built monuments, collections), the research need do vary, too. For all domains, the basis is a better understanding of the materials: what materials are used, where do these come from, how was the artefact (varying from a brick to a Rembrandt) actually made, how where they used, and how do the artefacts develop over time? A better understanding via research will give a better insight both into the values of the heritage for it’s makers and users, but also for us. It will enlighten the origins of human creativity, and the way how people coped with either frugal or prosperous ways of living. Thus, it will also give better insights of trade and transport lines, enlightening correlation between cultures, and also shed new light on issues like gender and climate (dendrochronology).

How to access the infrastructure

Access will be twofold. For content-driven activities we will have calls. But for access to data and information, and for online training, the access will be much broader.

Disciplines

Archaeology Art and architecture Biology Chemistry Computers and the humanities History Physics Religious studies and theology Science and technology
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