Lead institution:
Historic England – United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK)
Unpath’d Waters uses AI to connect and enhance scattered marine heritage collections for preserving and engaging with the UK’s diverse maritime legacy.
The UK’s marine heritage is extraordinarily rich. Wrecks range in date from the Bronze Age to the World Wars. Much earlier, the North Sea was dry land, peopled by prehistoric communities living in lowland landscapes and on very different coasts. This arc of heritage is represented by an abundance of collections telling us different things about our marine legacy. But they are dispersed, and held in different archives. unconnected and inaccessible.
Unpath’d Waters brings together universities, heritage agencies, museums, charitable trusts, and experts to join these collections. It uses Artificial Intelligence to devise new ways of searching across newly linked collections; simulations to help visualize the wrecks and landscapes; and science to help identify wrecks and find out more about them. It will deliver integrated management tools to help protect heritage and enable the public to co-design new ways of interacting with marine heritage and enhance it from their own collections.
Start Date: 01/12/2021
End Date: 01/12/2024
Lead Contact: Barney Sloane (Barney.Sloane@HistoricEngland.org.uk)