Abigail Allan

Humanities researcher considering the impacts of climate change on heritage, museums, and archaeology.

Part of my research concerns the intersections of climate change and archaeology, museums, and heritage. I was the Lead Researcher for National Historic Ships UK's Climate Change Report, published October 2021 and described by The Heritage Alliance, the UK's leading heritage advisory body, as a 'landmark report'. This report analysed the current and future impacts of climate change on the UK's repertoire of historic ships (and other aspects of the maritime heritage sector) and detailed ways historic ships are currently adapting to and mitigating climate change, or could do so in the future, using a range of case studies. This was followed by a series of recommendations, including policy recommendations, to various stakeholders. In terms of public outreach, I have written about this work for Anthroposphere: The Multidisciplinary Climate Magazine (https://www.anthroposphere.co.uk/post/the-roil-of-the-ocean) and spoken about it on a podcast Stories from the ocean: what can COP26 learn from coastal communities?, commissioned and published by the Climate Crisis Thinking in the Humanities and Social Sciences Network (https://torch.ox.ac.uk/stories-from-the-ocean-what-can-cop26-learn-from-coastal-communities).

My work in Classical Archaeology has also concerned climate change, recently completing a research piece considering the potential direct and indirect climate change impacts on the Egyptian Red Sea archaeological site of Myos Hormos, using satellite mapping as a key tool.

On a more day-to-day basis, my work in museums involves creating and actioning Environmental Policies, ensuring museums are aware of their climate impact and are taking daily action to mitigate it.

Feel free to reach out to me with project opportunities in these areas.