Evidence from Britain and Ireland between 3500-2000 BC (the late Neolithic and Chalcolithic) makes this one of the most important periods in prehistory. During this time, we see spectacular Grooved Ware and Beaker pottery, metallurgy, carved mace heads, and use of some of Europe's most iconic sites such as Newgrange and Stonehenge. Recent ancient DNA data (suggesting almost complete population replacement at the end of the period) and dietary stable isotopes (indicating movement of people and animals over previously unsuspected distances) suggest that there is still much to learn. These new data challenge and reinvigorate older debates in terms of growing social hierarchies, ethnicity, religious organisation, and identity. However, these data have not been matched by developments in our chronologies; such fine-grained evidence requires equally sophisticated and specific chronologies in order to understand these changes. While previously prehistorians had to rely for their chronological structure on typologies of sites and things, we now have the ability to produce very precise, probabilistic, independent chronologies using Bayesian statistical analyses (e.g. Bronk Ramsey 2009; Bayliss 2009). Bayesian analysis has provided precise chronologies for individual sites (e.g. Whittle 2018) or activity at types of site (e.g 'Neolithic burials'; Whitehouse et al. 2014), which were previously understood at the scale of several centuries. It allows a coherent way to compare scientific chronologies, and applications to earlier Neolithic sites (e.g. Whittle et al. 2011) have had international significance in the ways archaeologists approach scientific dating as a whole. While we have had excellent examples of scientific chronologies for individual late Neolithic and Chalcolithic sites or things (see below), no attempt has been made to write a synthetic history of the dramatic changes of late 4th and 3rd millennia Ireland and Britain using accurate and detailed chronology. Moreover, 'simply' increasing chronological precision on its own is not enough. To fully achieve the potential of the Bayesian 'revolution' (cf. Bayliss 2009; Bronk Ramsey 2009; Griffiths 2017), we need both an independent chronological framework, and an approach to 'prehistory' that moves beyond ever more precise chronologies for sites or sequences. We need narratives that can synthesise and interpret evidence from across 'packages' that archaeologists recognise as significant - such as the late Neolithic and Chalcolithic - and use precisely defined time-scales as the basis for discussing changes in practices, things and places produced by people in historically-specific times. Chapman (2018) has recently called this the 'central challenge' in order to write 'a new kind of archaeology', while Whittle (2018, 248) argues that the 'pre- must come out of prehistory'. This project will do just that. We will build on previous approaches, producing site-specific chronological models for all evidence from Britain and Ireland from 3500-2000 BC, while generating a significant legacy of new data, in order to use time - expressed in centuries and decades - as the basis for our new narrative structure. We will make all data, analytical programs and outputs open access, meaning it will be possible to adapt and revise our chronologies in future research. This project's significance will therefore lie not just in our methods, or our routine chronological precision for 1500 years of Irish and British history, or our commitment to open access, but also in our new approaches to writing narratives of 'prehistory' in the future.

Imagine experiencing a musical moment from the past; a rich, sensory experience that combines the flickering light from candles, the exquisite performance of centuries-old music, and the warm acoustics of a performance space that now no longer exists. That is what our initial project, Space, Place, Sound, and Memory, set out to do. Working closely with game developers, musicologists, architectural historians, and acousticians, we set out to recreate the sounds and sensations of early music performance in virtual reality. We began by painstakingly piecing together two concerts of music from fragmentary sources and records, and then recorded historically-informed performances in an anechoic chamber, a space that is specifically designed to have no natural acoustic. Once complete, we constructed two virtual auditoria, digitally rebuilding St. Cecilia's Hall and the Chapel at Linlithgow Palace from detailed laser scans taken on site. Then, we brought the recordings and virtual spaces together using acoustic ray-tracing to recreate the sensations of hearing a historic performance. The key outcome of that work was the production of virtual models and software which allows users to don VR headsets and step into the past. For our follow-on project, we would like to capitalise on our partnership with Historic Environment Scotland (HES) and St. Cecilia's Hall to create three dedicated public access points, situated at St. Cecilia's Hall, Linlithgow Palace, and the Engine Shed, HES's digital innovation centre. By partnering with HES, we get the greatest possible reach for our VR software: in 2017/18 Linlithgow Palace attracted 87,254 visitors from across the world. We plan to work closely with the organisation to measure impact in terms of visitor engagement using HES's established KPIs. In addition to exploring the application of our acoustic modelling software in the heritage sector, we would like to use the follow-on project to explore the viability of our models and experience of anechoic recording in a commercial music production environment. Working with the Binchois Consort and the classical label Hyperion, we will arrange, record, and produce music linked, through detailed research, to Linlithgow Palalce, including lesser-known pieces from Scotland's famous Carvor Choirbook. Building on our VR production workflow, we will work with Hyperion's recording engineers to develop a commercial music production pipeline based around anechoic recordings, using the virtual acoustic models as a tool during production and post-production to situate those anechoic recordings within a historical acoustic space. This will be the first instance of a classical album recorded and produced entirely within VR. We will develop a companion VR app that allows end-users to download additional musical content and VR models to remix and audition the recordings in different historic spaces and at different points in time. In terms of impact, we will capture data about Hyperion's ability to reach and engage its audiences in new ways and to grow new audiences, and the commercial viability of the app as a new revenue stream through creating and packaging additional paid-for content. By the end of this phase of the project, we expect the following outputs: 1. Three public-facing VR installations located at high footfall cultural sites across the Scottish Central Belt; 2. A new commercial album, to be released on the Hyperion label, featuring the Binchois Consort performing the music of the Carvor Choirbook; 3. New commercial music workflows and production pipelines based around production and post-production using VR tools; 4. A user-friendly mobile app that allows end-users to remix audio in different spaces and at different points in time; 5. Datasets relating to the impact of the underlying research work on visitor engagement to cultural sites, and on the commercial operation of a record label specialising in early music production.

If the significant numbers of dwellings with solid masonry walls (SMWs) are to be insulated, there will have to be a paradigm shift in the way that moisture risk is assessed. Methods must be developed to clearly demonstrate that insulation solutions are effective, robust and resilient to moisture even when considering the vagaries of our future climate and the way that people choose to live in their homes. This research will result in new methods and metrics, backed by rigorous scientific evidence, that enable moisture risk assessment of SMWs to be carried out routinely, new insulation materials to be developed and more homes to be insulated. Insulating the UKs existing housing stock will be an essential step in achieving greenhouse gas reduction targets and alleviating fuel poverty. The highest levels of heat loss occur in the c30% (8 million) homes that have SMWs. Insulating these walls offers significant potential for fuel savings but may cause moisture problems. Water accumulates within SMWs when it is raining outside or humid inside and diminishes with drier conditions. This water can pass from one face of the wall to the other as there is no cavity to act as a capillary break. Applying insulation to either the inside or outside face of the wall changes the temperature of the masonry, the rate of wetting and drying at each face and the locations where water vapour might condense and accumulate. This moisture can lead to mould growth, interstitial condensation and freeze thaw damage. These problems can cause severe damage, are expensive to repair and can affect the health of occupants. Current guidance in the UK Building Regulations (approved document C) and related standards is not adequate for assessing moisture risk when insulating SMWs. The simplified steady-state vapour diffusion model is not appropriate because dynamic liquid moisture conduction is the dominant moisture transport mechanism when SMWs are exposed to rainfall. There is a distinct lack of guidance on how to use more advanced transient heat and moisture simulation software, what inputs should be used for the boundary conditions and how the results translate into moisture risk. Straightforward design principles, based on many years of practical experience and research, have led to contradictory advice e.g. there is no clear consensus on how permeable the insulation material should be to water vapour. Thus only a small handful of hygrothermal experts might ever attempt a quantitative risk assessment for insulating SMWs and fewer SMWs are being insulated as a result. This research project will address these problems. Firstly, a framework will be developed for using advanced heat and moisture simulation software to carry out moisture risk assessment. This will include guidance on the boundary conditions to be used at the inside of the wall, and outside especially for wind driven rain exposure. It will also identify appropriate criteria to minimise risk from moisture accumulation within the wall, mould growth at the indoor surface and freeze/thaw at the outside surface. A number of insulation materials will be compared to understand which can best reduce the risk of moisture damage when insulating SMWs. Secondly, probabilistic modelling methods will be used to understand how robust different insulation solutions are to moisture damage given that there is considerable uncertainty in boundary conditions and material properties. Thirdly, new approaches to moisture risk assessment will be explored. A 'moisture safety factor' might describe how resilient an insulated SMW is to extreme events such as flooding. It may be possible to develop a completely new laboratory test for assessing insulation solutions. The underlying strength of this research comes from the collection high quality primary data, in the new state-of-the-art Hygrothermal Test Facility, for validating the results from the models.

Rock art is a global phenomenon. It is often a defining feature of cultural heritage and identity, attracting considerable scholarly interest, capturing public imagination and even inspiring contemporary artists. In Britain, over 6,000 rocks with 'cup-and-ring' carvings are known, although detailed knowledge of British rock art remains very limited beyond a handful of academic and private specialists, with wider awareness restricted to a few key regions such as Northumberland and Kilmartin (Argyll). Over a third of the carvings are in Scotland, an area which would be highly suitable for comparative analysis if it had a comprehensive database. Our aim is to work with local communities and heritage organisations in order to undertake a systematic study of how the rock art landscape in Britain was shaped by human actions and beliefs. The research is structured around three questions: How was rock art used in the landscape? How have the carvings been reused over time? How is rock art used and valued today? The motifs were engraved onto selected fixed natural rock surfaces during the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age (c.4000-1800 BC). While it may remain impossible to ascertain the intrinsic meanings of these carvings, the study of their form, location and contextual associations can illuminate their significance. From the Late Neolithic period onwards, many carved rocks were taken from their original contexts and reused in built structures, indicating their continued currency. In more recent times carvings have frequently been re-located to museums and private collections, or destroyed. Analysis of rock art use and reuse is therefore crucial to understanding the behaviour, perceptions, and values that have defined places and communities through time. This is the first major research project to focus on British rock art at this scale. Previous studies have concentrated on single sites or regional clusters, creating a fragmented and distorted impression that obscures common themes or variations, and hinders understanding of the wider regional connections and identities suggested by the motifs and their contexts. Furthermore, that the carvings often had a long life beyond the Early Bronze Age has not been considered, despite evidence of deliberate reuse in later structures. Today, rock art in Britain has a low social visibility and value. Studying contemporary attitudes to rock art will reveal how social values are forged through changing awareness, engagement and education, which is vital for future research, heritage management, and community empowerment. Wide-ranging consultation with heritage organisations and community groups has revealed a deep interest in the research, and enthusiasm for cross-sector collaboration. The project builds on our extensive experience of community engagement, rock art visualisation, and research. Working with local communities and heritage bodies across the country, we will produce a comprehensive database of Scotland's rock art, including 3D and 2D digital models, which we will use as a tool for investigating the carvings at local, regional and inter-regional scales. We will integrate the rock art data with archaeological and land-use datasets in a GIS model to enable us to undertake geospatial analysis of the carvings in relation to their placement in the landscape and changing cultural contexts from prehistory to the present day. Carvings will be analysed statistically and added to the GIS model in order to explore regional variability and to determine potential patterning of attributes in relation to specific topographical and cultural features. Historical accounts and local community involvement will inform our understanding of changing perceptions, treatment and social value of rock art. In conclusion, this project will make a major contribution to British and Northern European archaeology, and be an important point of reference for world rock art studies.

The UK has a world-leading cultural and creative economy, and every year there are hundreds of thousands of events, festivals, concerts, plays, and gigs, varying in scale from the very small and informal, to the large and coordinated. Events tell us much about the creative landscape: however, although data has been produced about them to facilitate listings, and ticket sales, there does not exist a service by which researchers can access this recently produced commercial data in order to generate accurate data-led analysis and visualisation of the UK's creative sector. Additionally, the data created by the events industry is large, and complex, involving commercial providers who have generated novel business models around data scraping, gathering, and dissemination. Any researcher who wishes to use this data has to navigate access to data, but also access to compute at scale, to generate novel understandings that may be of use in event planning, policy, or to identify potential trends, or opportunities for investment and support. Of particular interest at the moment is gathering accurate information on the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the UK's events industry: although events data exists, no accurate reports have used this to understand the effects of the pandemic, and industry recovery. To provide such a data service that could support researchers, there needs to be an investigation into how best to provide this data to Arts and Humanities (A&H) researchers, many of whom have not undertaken data-analysis at this scale. Therefore, a particular needs-analysis requires to be done with A&H researchers, whilst also working closely with industry contacts to understand the landscape of events data, and how this - as an example of the type of data that is produced by the UK's cultural industries - can be provided to A&H researchers as a supported service that negotiates relationships between data providers and processors. Any service in this area needs to also consider privacy, copyright, and intellectual property, as well as looking at particular user needs. Our research will support the development and design of a data repository for the capture and analysis of UK cultural and creative industries data at scale, focussing particularly on events-based data. We will undertake a range of scoping and user needs analysis with a diverse community from industry, academia, and data service providers. We will show how A&H researchers are already using, or could make future use, of events based data, and the impact this type of research may have in understanding our economy, cultural environment, and physical infrastructure planning. We will undertake a pilot study, with our project consultants The List, who are the UK's major events listings based data provider and have over 15 years of experience operating in this area. We will aim to understand how researchers can analyse over 2GB of data covering 2.5m events organised in the UK between 2017 and 2021. Our outputs will include a specification for a cultural and creative industries data service that includes capital, operational, and support costs, providing a roadmap for how to build a service that can support the UK's A&H researchers in understanding the cultural and heritage industries at scale. We will also propose a skills and capacity building programme for the A&H research community in accessing and using this type of creative industry information from a large-scale data service that utilises High Performance Computing and Data Analytics. The University of Edinburgh is uniquely placed to be able to carry out such a study, given the conjunction of expertise which exists, and collaborations, between national UK computing infrastructure, major events such as the festivals, creative industry researchers, and the university's recent major investment into digital approaches across the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences in the Edinburgh Futures Institute (www.efi.ed.ac.uk).