Integrating the maritime past into mainstream thinking
The University of East Anglia established the Shipwrecks and Maritime Heritage Research Centre in 2025. The Centre fosters STEM/SHAPE research partnerships, innovation, and impact. Our first research themes focus on environmental contexts and impacts; historical analysis, creative exploration, and related educational programmes; and ancient DNA studies and biochemistry.
Image: CEFAS Endeavour. Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science.
Centre Research Themes
Environmental, Marine, and Climate Science
Work in this theme studies the threats to shipwreck sites and their marine and coastal contexts to understand their place in human and environmental history. This research theme considers weather types, climate and sea state conditions from historical records and datasets, as well as measuring seabed stability and the environmental factors impacting wreck sites.
Image: Divers exploring the seabed at the Gloucester wreck site. Credit: Maritime Archaeology Trust © 2026 Julian Barnwell, Lincoln Barnwell, and James Little.
Maritime History, Creative Exploration, and Storytelling
Stories of shipwrecks and the sea have for millennia been used to explore the human condition and our place in the world. Work in this theme focuses on the heritage, history, and storytelling ecosystem and the creative and cultural opportunities from maritime narratives. The Centre seeks to engage the widest range of audiences with shipwreck history and heritage.
Image: A chart of the east coast from Barton, Lincolnshire, to Dover, Kent, 1693 by Greenvile Collins. From the British Library archive/ Bridgeman Images.
Genetic Analysis, Biochemistry, and Ancient DNA
Work on this strand focuses on developing a metagenomics workflow for biological materials from shipwrecks, such as wood, wine, parchment, clothing, and skeletal remains. Analysis of the biological material included in historic shipwrecks can provide valuable insights into the origins of modern livestock breeds for instance, and the history and development of agricultural practices.
Image: David Baker, UKRI Quadrum Institute.
