ADS Newsletter Issue 12

New forum puts archives on the map

The ADS exists to provide a stable archival home for electronic data in archaeological research. Recognising that digital data is only a small part of the archives generated by research, it is important that ADS understands and responds to the needs of other types of material. That task has been made a great deal easier in recent months with the foundation of the Archaeological Archives Forum. In this article, Kathy Perrin of English Heritage describes the forum and its goals.

English Heritage has announced the foundation of a new Archaeological Archives Forum which aims to open up generations of invaluable research to a wider public.

The ADS is one of a number of organisations joining forces with English Heritage to tackle the job of making archaeological archives, with their wealth of finds, photographs and information, easier to access.

Archaeological archives are amongst our greatest assets but their wealth is too often untapped and their potential unexplored. Stuck in basements or remote storerooms, they can be inaccessible or even thought of as a nuisance. Once written up in academic publications or fieldwork reports the mass of material and information they represent seldom sees the light of day. The Forum hopes to change this by creating new standards of access and deposition. We want the archives to be a source of exciting interactive learning and research for everyone, from schoolchildren to professors.

High on the Forum's agenda are the provision of archaeological resource centres, digital access and archiving and training in preservation in post excavation work. The Museum of London has recently provided an exciting blueprint with the opening in February of its London Archaeological Archive and Research Centre in Mortimer Wheeler House. This popular initiative has opened the door to archives to specialists and children alike in an environment that is appropriately equipped for preservation and research as well as teaching.

The ADS has also furthered our understanding of how archives can better be used for teaching learning and research through online access. Projects such as the "Digital archives pilot project for excavation record", which generated the world's first completely online digital archives from archaeological excavations, have paved the way for a clearer understanding of what constitutes a digital excavation archive. The ADS's Guides to Good Practice provide concrete advice for those hoping to preserve digital data, while "PATOIS" - a teaching and learning project - has shown how such materials can be used in the classroom.

The Forum, which held its inaugural meeting in May, resulted from an English Heritage initiative, following the publication of its report Archaeological Archives; Access Documentation and Deposition: A Way Forward.

The Forum currently comprises representatives of: The Archaeology Data Service, The Association of Local Government Archaeological Officers, The Council for British Archaeology, English Heritage, The Institute of Field Archaeologists, The Institute of Field Archaeologists Finds Group, The Museums Documentation Association, The Society of Antiquaries of London, The Society of Museum Archaeologists, The Standing Conference of Archaeological Unit Managers and Resource. Work is underway to involve representatives from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in the new Forum's activities. This broad-based support for the forum is testament to the widely held belief in what archaeological archives offer us and how they can be made more approachable.

The Forum is chaired by Headley Swain of the the Museum of London and the Vice-Chair is David Morgan-Evans of The Society of Antiquaries of London.

Kathy Perrin, English Heritage
For more on the forum, contact Kathy or see the Forum Website at http://www.britarch.ac.uk/archives for more Information about the London Archaeological Archives and Research Centre see http://www.molas.org.uk

New forum puts archives on the map

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