Collection Highlights
In the following sections colleagues and collaborators present their personal views on some favourite ADS resources.
Trent Valley Geoarchaeology Bibliographic Database
Tim Evans
ADS ALSF Curatorial Officer
The English Heritage based Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund (ALSF) was introduced in 2002 to provide funds for a wide range of projects based on areas subject to the extraction of aggregates. One such project was the Trent Valley Geoarchaeology Bibliographic (TVGAB) database, created in 2004 (by the Department of Archaeology, University of Nottingham) in order to facilitate access to information on archaeological works across the whole Trent Valley area. The database collated the wide range of published and non-published archaeological, geomorphological and palaeoenvironmental interventions on the Trent gravels.
An important theme within the ALSF is the need to integrate and disseminate the wide range of material produced by gravel based sites. In light of this, the TVGAB was made available online via the ADS website, making the resource easily accessible to archaeological researchers and other bodies working within the study area. The format of the ADS web-page allows the user to search the database for specific published volumes or for relevant volumes via geographical area or methodological or thematic content. This accessible and easy to use resource undoubtedly increases the effectiveness of ongoing and future archaeological work on the Trent Valley, one of the most intensively quarried landscapes in the UK. The ADS, on behalf of English Heritage, has recently begun the process of seeking to disseminate and secure for the long term the research and management documents produced by the wide range of ALSF funded projects. The rationale behind this effort is represented by the case study of the TVGAB; the attempt to provide secure access to the mass of important, often unpublished archaeological information with a view to increase both the effectiveness and academic merit of the digital data.
TVGAB:
http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?tvgab
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