| ADS ONLINE - ISSUE 13 - Interaction - ISSN 1368-0560 | Front Page | Contents |
Since the launch of ArchSearch 2 in summer 2002, the ADS technical team has turned its attention again to the delivery of new datasets. Regional coverage of archaeological data - in the form of subsets of local sites and monuments records (SMRs) - continues to grow in the ADS catalogue with the recent addition of the Shropshire Sites and Monuments Record. A reload of the South Gloucestershire SMR was also undertaken recently courtesy of South Gloucestershire Council. The catalogue now contains subsets from a variety of local records including records from: Clwyd-Powys; Greater London; Northumberland; South Gloucestershire; Shropshire and West of Scotland. The next few months should also see an update of the Northumberland Sites and Monuments Record, and the addition of new data sets from Durham County Council and Warwickshire County Council.
Together with national datasets and archival holdings, the catalogue now contains over 440,000 records. As the number of records increases, so the colours of the "density" map change.
Increasingly data is supplied to the ADS in support of local Internet initiatives: data is released simultaneously online by the ADS and the local heritage agency. Links between these different records connect the rich local description to an extensive, but largely superficial index. As more and more local agencies put their information online, so the need for this sort of service from the ADS increases. ArchSearch provides a rapid search and retrieval mechanism for multiple datasets, raising awareness of these datasets in the research community.
A further batch of CBA Research Reports have been made available by the Council for British Archaeology including such classics as Hodges and Hobley's The Rebirth of Towns in the West AD 700 - 1050 and Early Development of Roman London West of the Walbrook by Dominic Perring and Steve Roskams with Patrick Allen. These join the earlier batches of reports, available online at: http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/library/cba/rrs.cfm.
Three volumes in the series have been further complemented by the release of related archival material. The digital archive resulting from the excavations at Christchurch, Spitalfields in the city of London includes unpublished papers, images and plans as well as eighteenth and nineteenth century registers from the parish. The archive was brought together to support an online tutorial about how archaeological projects use research data from many different disciplines. This tutorial, part of the PATOIS suite of tutorials provides a new and interactive method for understanding the contents of the archive. http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/project/patois/module4
A pilot is underway to deliver the full texts of Society of Antiquaries of Scotland publications online. These include the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (published since 1852), Archaeologia Scotica (published since 1792) and out-of-print monographs. Funding from Historic Scotland and the Russell Trust is allowing the Society to digitise its publications and the ADS to develop document delivery system from the ARCHway online Table of Contents service. http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/ARCHway.html
There's always something exciting about getting a new computer, but the downside is knowing what to do with all that old equipment. What to do with all that investment and processing power which, only a few years ago was so new and so exciting - and so expensive? As often as not, there is little to be gained from maintaining these machines to preserve data, since it can often and easily be migrated to the new platform. Every so often, however, we come across datasets that cannot be migrated easily to a new system, and which is valuable - if not critical - for someone's research. So the ADS runs a small "museum of computing", where certain privileged old computers can live out a graceful and useful retirement. Do you know of any old computers that deserve a place in history and which we can make available for others who may put them to good use?
We're actively seeking redundant hardware (and software) for the museum both in working order and for parts. We are particularly interested in getting hold of a BBC micro and a Spectrum computer but would like to hear about any equipment which readers might be kind enough to donate.
Old PCs are not a problem, because the floppy drives - even 5.25 inch drives - are relatively easy to maintain. Other platforms however are more of a problem. Previous donations to the museum include an ACT Sirius 1, an Atari 800 and (of course!) an Amstrad 8256 - all in good order. We also have an Apricot and a Victor which are not in working order, but which we can cannibalise for parts should the need arise.
ArchSearch News is brought to you by the ADS technical team: Tony Austin, Keith Westcott and Jo Clarke
email: collections@ads.ahds.ac.uk
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© ADS 1996-2012 Edited by
William Kilbride, email
Monday, 08 August 2005
Cite only: http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/newsletter/issue13/archsearch.html for this page