A University of Winchester academic is to give a series of lectures in Italy focussing on the potential therapeutic value of archaeology.
Dr Paul Everill, Reader in Archaeology and Deputy Head of the School of Humanities, has been awarded a prestigious Visiting Professorship at the University of Milan where he is due to deliver a course of 10 lectures entitled "Archaeology, wellbeing and social impact".
Paul said: “Most recently my work has focused on ‘Wellbeing Archaeology’, and the capacity the discipline has to positively impact the mental health of public participants. I have come to the realisation that the common thread in my research, from early archaeology through to my current excavations in Georgia, is an interest in the social impact of archaeology and this seminar series will explore that aspect from a variety of perspectives."
With Dr Karen Burnell, Associate Professor of Applied Psychology from Solent University, Paul developed AMPHORA (Authentic and Meaningful Participation in Heritage Or Related Activities) a series of toolkits for project providers and participants which launched in 2022 to support safe delivery of mental health benefits.
Archaeology has been used as a therapeutic intervention for veterans since Operation Nightingale was launched by the Ministry of Defence in 2011.
Paul and Karen’s work with veteran-focused initiatives, including Operation Nightingale and Breaking Ground Heritage, led to a large-scale study of the psychological effects on veterans taking part in digs. Participants reported decreases in depression and anxiety and feelings of isolation and an increase in self-worth and wellbeing.
Dr Paul Everill, photgraphed in Georgia
More recently the AMPHORA guidelines have been taken up by a Ukrainian initiative called "Spiritual Recovery Through Culture", which uses archaeology as well as heritage crafts to help improve the wellbeing of Ukrainian military personnel.
Last year Paul spoke online to the Ukrainian Association of Archaeologists (UAA) about his experiences working with veterans at the site of a Byzantine fortress at Nokalakevi in Georgia, and leading the fee-waiver studentships in archaeology for veterans at the University of Winchester.
Paul also convened a conference session on 'Wellbeing Archaeology' for the World Archaeological Congress in June 2025.
Milan, one of the largest universities in Europe, with about 60,000 students, celebrated its centenary in 2024. It is a founder member, and sole Italian member, of the League of European Research Universities (LERU).
Pictured top: The courtyard at University of Milan. Photo by Giovanni Dall'Orto.
Back to media centre