at the University of Ulster at Coleraine and the Centre for Archaeological Fieldwork (CAF) at Queen’s University, Belfast.Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) has specific research needs aimed at identifying, recording and protecting important buildings, monuments and archaeological sites. Much of the archaeological work is undertaken through partnership projects with universities such as those with the Centre for Maritime Archaeology (CMA) at the University of Ulster at Coleraine and the Centre for Archaeological Fieldwork (CAF) at Queen’s University, Belfast.
A major area of ongoing research work is the second survey of all of Northern Ireland’s building stock. This will update the existing buildings database that contains data on over 9000 historic buildings.
The Buildings at Risk Register for Northern Ireland (BARNI) is developed in association with the Ulster Architectural Society and provides details of buildings of historical or architectural interest that are at risk and may be suitable for restoration or repair.
CAMSAR (Condition and Management Survey of the Archaeological Resource) (.PDF 4.5Mb)
is a major NIEA research project that involved visiting 1500 historic monuments across Northern Ireland to record their condition in various land uses. Monuments were found to be subject to livestock damage in addition to natural erosion processes and sites under statutory protection were found to be in considerably better condition than unprotected examples.
NIEA also supports a project aimed at identifying and recording 20th century defensive structures in Northern Ireland such as pillboxes and observation posts, view the Defence Heritage section.