{"id":7002,"date":"2025-04-24T07:49:53","date_gmt":"2025-04-24T07:49:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/?page_id=7002"},"modified":"2025-04-25T02:46:37","modified_gmt":"2025-04-25T02:46:37","slug":"t17-s08-papers","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/t17-s08-papers\/","title":{"rendered":"T17\/S08: Wellbeing Archaeology and the AMPHORA Guidelines"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Format: Paper presentations with discussion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Convenors:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Paul Everill, University of Winchester, UK,\u00a0paul.everill@winchester.ac.uk<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Increasingly, engagement with archaeology is demonstrating enormous potential in terms of improving wellbeing for participants. While the precise mechanisms behind this are not known\u2014and may vary between groups or even individuals\u2014the importance of working collaboratively with mental health professionals to ensure the process of change is safe and supported is well established. Indeed, the AMPHORA (\u2018Authentic and Meaningful Participation in Heritage or Related Activities\u2019) guidelines offer a rigorous framework and quality assurance for project providers, social prescribers, and participants on projects seeking to positively impact mental health\/wellbeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This session seeks to expand the global conversation around Wellbeing Archaeology, exploring and sharing the experiences of archaeologists and communities in this emerging field. As archaeologists this is a new and powerful component of our relationship with the public and communities, but it comes with enormous responsibility that require us to look beyond our traditional disciplinary expertise and to work collaboratively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the AMPHORA guidelines in mind, this session welcomes papers that reflect on experiences of Wellbeing Archaeology\u2014including aspects of project preparation, delivery, and follow-up\u2014to help us better understand the global potential of this work in terms of enhancing public benefit, and the role that AMPHORA and WAC might play in informing and developing policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Papers:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Using AMPHORA in a War Zone: How Archaeology is Helping Combatants in Ukraine<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark Brisbane, Bournemouth University, UK\u00a0<\/em>
Sergiy Taranenko, Kyiv Pechersk Lavra Monastery and Natural Reserve, Ukraine<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An ambitious programme for the recovery of military personnel called \u2018Spiritual Recovery through Culture\u2019 was launched in Kyiv, Ukraine, in summer 2023. In addition to complementary aspects such as pastoral care, craft activities and exploring Kyiv’s heritage, an archaeological component was developed that built on work in the UK, especially for the Ministry of Defence (UK), known as Operation Nightingale, designed to support the recovery of veterans suffering physical and mental trauma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The AMPHORA guidelines provide guidance around project initiation and delivery for such programmes. Working with the universities of Bournemouth, Southampton Solent, and Winchester, the Kyiv Pechersk Monastery introduced AMPHORA in 2023\/24. It became clear that the programme was useful but cannot be a panacea for the restoration of mental health. The use of the programme during the Russian-Ukrainian war identified adaptations needed in that context. This paper will discuss specific ways to adapt such programmes to a live military conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of 2024, the Ukrainian Association of Archaeologists combined existing European experience and launched a new project \u2018AM\u0420\u041dORA-Ukraine\u2019. In addition to disseminating the experience to its 26 branches throughout the country, work has begun on a new methodological manual based on AMPHORA and its key components.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using Archaeology to Strengthen Indigenous Social, Emotional and Economic Wellbeing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Claire Smith, Archaeology, Flinders University, Australia<\/em>
Vincent Copley junior, Ngadjuri Elders, Australia<\/em>
Kara McEwen, Ngadjuri Elders, Australia<\/em>
Kylie Lower, Director and Principal Consultant, Blackwood Heritage Consulting, Adelaide, Australia<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using access to their traditional lands as a measure of Indigenous wellbeing, we discuss how knowing their traditional landscapes and cultural heritage sites has played a crucial role in strengthening Ngadjuri social, emotional and economic wellbeing and in healing the wounds of the past. Conducted under the direction of Ngadjuri Elders, this research contributes to current iterations of community archaeology as community-directed studies undertaken by invitation and to the ongoing movement of decolonising archaeology. The Ngadjuri Indigenous Heritage Project is an example of how long-term archaeological research with Indigenous people can improve social, emotional and economic wellbeing by facilitating connectedness with traditional lands and contributing to continuity of cultures\u2014even when these links have suffered major disruptions through colonialism. Over 25 years, this project has contributed to the social, emotional and economic wellbeing of Ngadjuri people by supporting them to have an active and public presence on their traditional lands and by adding a much-neglected Ngadjuri perspective\u2014and presence\u2014to the historical record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do Heritage Interactions Affect Wellbeing? A Case Study at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jennifer Will, Archaeology, Flinders University, Australia<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inspired by Paul Everill\u2019s \u2018Archaeology, Heritage and Wellbeing\u2019, which investigates a growing understanding of the links between heritage and personal or community wellbeing, this paper will discuss a study of how heritage interactions influence museum visitors\u2019 wellbeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Studies such as Ander et al (2012), Bennett (2022), and Ulke (2022) found that heritage-based interactions increased the wellbeing of people suffering conditions such as Alzheimer\u2019s and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Fewer studies, however, have investigated how heritage interactions affect the wellbeing of everyday people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To address this gap, this study will explore how heritage interactions affect a variety of people, and how this varies across age, gender, and nationality. Better understanding of the link between heritage and wellbeing could help museums plan strategies to positively impact wellbeing and to seek funding with this aim in mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The World Archaeological Congress (WAC-10) provides a rare opportunity to survey a broad array of museum goers from a variety of demographic backgrounds as they visit the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This study will use the Thomson and Chatterjee (2015) Museum Wellbeing Measures toolkit to assess interactions with heritage and semi-structured interviews to add clarity and depth to participant responses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bringing Together the Evidence to Build Impact in Wellbeing Archaeology<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Linda Monckton FSA, Head of Wellbeing and Heritage, Historic England, UK<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2022 Historic England published its first (3-year) wellbeing and heritage strategy. As that first plan period comes to an end and we look forward to the next strategy, this paper will review key shifts in the landscape of wellbeing and archaeology over the past 3-5 years and consider the priorities for the profession going forward. One key area of recent work has been the setting up of a short-term working party on \u2018Wellbeing Archaeology\u2019, which has brought many practitioners and researchers together from across the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This group has explored what wellbeing archaeology is and means through a multi-sector perspective. It has looked at best practice for participants and facilitators; impact and evaluation approaches. In addition, it aims to influence policies and procedures in a way that reflect these best practices and the importance of this work to the wider industry and governance. This presentation will describe the collated evidence and outcomes from this work, bringing together experiences from many projects and will identify the next possible steps for the profession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heritage and Health: Quantifying the Physical, Mental, Social and Economic Benefits of Archaeological Work. Case Studies from Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australia and Southern Africa<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sven Ouzman, Archaeology and Centre for Rock Art Research + Management, Social Sciences, University of Western Australia, Australia<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Archaeology is a curate\u2019s egg. On one hand it is burdened by imperial, colonial, neo-liberal and extractive histories and agendas. On the other hand, it is literally and metaphorically to go beneath surface appearances as source of primary evidence for events past and present. The emerging field of \u2018well-being archaeology\u2019 has much to offer but is hampered by not having an established set of metrics to quantify the various \u2018goods\u2019 that archaeology can do. This paper seeks less to feed audit culture of compliance and quality assurance and more on how co-designed research with Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities results in a better quality of life. Using both market and non-market evaluation, I examine using archaeology as a vehicle to directly benefit stakeholders; to explore quantifiable benefits of heritage to use when interacting with government, industry and the public, and to consider what being an \u2018archaeologist\u2019 and heritage practitioner in the 21st century can and should look like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Digging for Erlestoke \u2013 Unlocking the Potential in Prisoners Through Heritage Inclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leigh Chalmers, Heritage Inclusion Manager, Wessex Archaeology, UK<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Digging for Erlestoke is a community dig with a difference, the difference being that the community were a group of prisoners from HMP Erlestoke, a category C men\u2019s prison in Wiltshire, England. Designed and delivered over 18-months by Wessex Archaeology and supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the project set out to improve wellbeing through access to archaeology and heritage. In the process, the project took on its own unique energy; a small band of men found meaning and fulfilment and experienced a profound change in their mindset and outlook on life. Working as part of a team, being treated with kindness and respect and by meeting the men where they are, not judging them for who they were, the project went beyond wellbeing and became a significant part in the men\u2019s rehabilitation as a restorative experience. Not only that, but the men also made a genuine contribution to the archaeological record, uncovering a story that spans 6000 years on a seemingly insignificant Greensand outlier within the confines of the prison. This presentation explores the impact working outside of your comfort zone can have on individuals, and how by focusing on the past, not their past, the men were able to consider what a positive future might look like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CraftWell: Investigating Connections Between Heritage Crafting, the Outdoors, and Wellbeing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stephanie Piper, Dept of Archaeology, University of York, UK<\/em>
Emily Shoesmith and Trish Darcy, Dept of Health Sciences, University of York, UK<\/em>
Aim\u00e9e Little, Andy Needham and Gareth Perry, Dept of Archaeology, University of York, UK\u00a0<\/em>
Peter Coventry, Dept of Health Sciences, University of York, UK<\/em>
Piran White, Dept of Environment and Geography, University of York<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outdoor, nature-based, and craft-based interventions are well documented in mental health care as having positive benefits, with increasing evidence to show that engaging in archaeology also has positive effects on people\u2019s wellbeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This paper presents the CraftWell project – an interdisciplinary feasibility study conducted at the University of York (UK) into the connection between outdoor heritage crafting activities and university student responses across a number of wellbeing measures. In this project, students participated in one of two outdoor workshops: authentic recreation of stone beads found at a 10,000 year old wetland site in the north of England, or making pots based on 5th-6th Century CE types from eastern England. The workshops were conducted in a secluded area of woodland within the university campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Analysis of pre-and post workshop questionnaires, and of follow-up interviews, identified positive links between wellbeing, being outside in nature, and focussing on crafts with tangible links to the past. We discuss some of the mechanisms and outcomes identified from the CraftWell project, and potential future applications for a project of this nature, including in social prescribing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Revisiting Participatory Dynamics: A Post-project Evaluation of an Archaeology-based Wellbeing Intervention<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Francesco Ripanti, University of Birmingham, UK<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Archaeology-based wellbeing interventions can take many forms, generate diverse impacts, and conclude in different ways. While most interventions end with their last scheduled session, follow-up projects sometimes develop spontaneously after a program ends, driven by the participative dynamics established in the original project. Although we typically consider these dynamics when evaluating the initial project, should we also reassess their impact after the follow-up project concludes?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through qualitative and quantitative data analysis, this paper examines the key dynamics that shaped active engagement for wellbeing within the ‘ArcheologicaMente’ programme, which ran in Italy in September 2023. The core contribution is an in-depth reflection on how and why certain dynamics were incorporated into ‘Percorsi Connessi’\u2014a follow-up programme independently organised by several partners from ‘ArcheologicaMente’. This reflection illustrates how an examination of follow-up programmes can suggest which dynamics have had the most (or least) significant impact on participants. ‘ArcheologicaMente’ was part of LOGGIA (‘Linking community archaeology and wellbeing in the Mediterranean’), an EU-funded Marie Sk\u0142odowska-Curie project that explored how archaeology can enhance community wellbeing through programs engaging local communities and vulnerable groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Healing But Not Broken: Australian Veteran Experiences in Archaeologically Led Rehabilitation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Daryl Wesley, Archaeology, Flinders University, Australia<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Samuel Dix, Archaeology, Flinders University; Biosis, Australia<\/em>Globally, there is a movement in utilising the therapeutic processes of archaeology for a range of people who are experiencing a range of medical and psychological trauma. Specifically, Veterans have found archaeology a way for them to reintegrate into civilian life while realising the skills learnt through military service is transferable to the discipline. Through successful program’s seen in the UK and USA, we explore the benefits that archaeology has provided to Veterans working through Flinders University’s Exercise Warhorse and Open Arms in providing pathways for Veterans to use archaeology as therapy, and for future careers in the profession.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Format: Paper presentations with discussion Convenors:\u00a0 Dr Paul Everill, University of Winchester, UK,\u00a0paul.everill@winchester.ac.uk Increasingly, engagement with archaeology is demonstrating enormous potential in terms of improving wellbeing for participants. While the precise mechanisms behind this are not known\u2014and may vary between groups or even individuals\u2014the importance of working collaboratively with mental health professionals to ensure the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1157,"featured_media":276,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-7002","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"pmpro-has-access","7":"czr-hentry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1157"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7002"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7002\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7484,"href":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7002\/revisions\/7484"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}