The ORA team was recently invited to present at the symposium ‘Revealing the Past: Analytical Methods in Heritage Science’, an event co-organised by the RSC Analytical Methods Committee and RICHeS (Research Infrastructure for Conservation and Heritage Science). This comprised a range of talks on the wide range of analytical techniques that can be invoked to further enrich our understanding of heritage collections and materials, from dyes to pesticides to moving image conservation. This was held in the extremely beautiful Lydia and Manfred Gorvy Theatre at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and attended by hundreds in person and online.

Our team presented on ‘The Organic Residue Analysis Workflow: biomarkers, compound-specific stable isotopes and radiocarbon dating’, introducing attendees to the rich information that can be obtained at each of the various stages of analysis, new protocols we have developed, and how this capability can be accessed at the University of Bristol through our external service or the RICHeS Access fund.

Our thanks go to the RSC and RICHeS for hosting the event, the Analytical Methods Trust and the Analytical Chemistry Trust Fund for providing support and the Heritage Science Expert working group for their role in organising such a productive and enjoyable day”.