UCD collaborates on British Academy funded research exploring how prehistoric influences environmental policies

8 May 2025

_{Insert, from top: Professor Graeme Warren, UCD School of Archaeology, Dr Alice Rudge, University of London, and Dr Ben Elliott, University of the Highlands and Islands}

University College Dublin is to collaborate on a (opens in a new window)newly British Academy funded research project exploring how the ancient past is used to shape current environmental policies.

Addressing the tendency of policy makers in Britian and Ireland to evoke prehistory when discussing the benefits and costs of net zero emissions, the Prehistoric Policies project will examine how such narratives influence Just Transition policies, which seek to ensure the transition to a climate-neutral economy is fair and equitable.

Awarded €316,027 (£268,937) by the British Academy under its (opens in a new window)International Knowledge Frontiers programme, the two-year project will be led by the Orkney-based UHI Archaeology Institute, with (opens in a new window)Dr Ben Elliott working in collaboration with (opens in a new window)Dr Alice Rudge of SOAS, University of London, and (opens in a new window)Professor Graeme Warren, UCD School of Archaeology.

Focused on three main areas, Prehistoric Policies will:

• Look at the evidence used to support these ideas and plot the influence they have on Just Transition policies.
• Critically analyse the role of popular science within this process.​
• Provide guidance for policymakers wanting to access expert scholarship.​

Welcoming the funding, Dr Rudge described the project as “an amazing opportunity to explore in more depth how ideas about the deep past are shaping our environmental futures.”

Dr Elliott added: “Prehistoric Policies is a fantastic opportunity for us to examine the power of prehistory, and the role that it is playing in shaping Just Transition policy.

“I can’t wait to work with this exciting team of researchers, who bring together expert knowledge on human societies in both the past and present, around an interest in the way our shared human heritage is understood within wider society.”

“I’m delighted to be part of this team with two outstanding colleagues and excited to be exploring how ideas about the prehistoric past are shaping our present and future,” said Professor Warren.

By: David Kearns, Digital Journalist / Media Officer, UCD University Relations

To contact the UCD News & Content Team, email: newsdesk@ucd.ie