Rethinking archaeological archives - Workshop

Join our online workshop with colleagues from all walks of heritage and archaeology life to help us rethink how we store and access archaeological archives.

What’s the challenge? Think about how we work with archaeological archives, identifying the things we need in place to be able to locate, access and use materials that are held in store for long term storage.
What’s the opportunity? In evaluating the way archaeological archives are managed at a regional and national level, we have an opportunity to rethink how changes could to the current system impact us both positively and negatively.
What’s up for discussion? Lots, but including things like… How do we use archaeological archives? Are there barriers or issues in accessing archaeological archives? Where should archives be stored? How do you want to be able to use and access materials? If we are rethinking access, use and space, can we present bigger opportunities to support sustainable access

When is it? We are hosting the workshop twice: Thursday 27 August (10 -12) and Thursday 03 September (10 -12)

Who should attend? People who work in archaeological archives management, who create archaeological archives and those who use and access to archives for research and education.

The Project Team

Manda Forster - DigVentures

Sam Paul - Independent

Sally Croft, Justin Ware and Quinton Carroll - Cambridgeshire County Council

The Project: Options for Sustainable Archaeological Archives

Arts Council England (ACE) and Historic England (HE) are jointly funding a new project to assess strategic options for the ongoing issue of storing archaeological archives. The options appraisal will review existing and future capacity for archaeological archives within England, considering a full range of archive solutions and evaluating the potential of each to meet the needs of archive creators, managers and users.

The volumes of undeposited archives has dramatically increased as developer-funded excavations bring forward new discoveries on a previously unimagined scale, and access to this material for research is being hindered by a lack of suitable storage and access space. This crisis was recognised by the Mendoza Review of Museums (2017) resulting with a series of recommendations targeting the sustainability of archaeological archives. This project is a key part of the action plan led by Historic England with Arts Council England to address the long-standing challenges for archaeological archives identified by Mendoza. Further details of the Action Plan can be found here:

https://historicengland.org.uk/whats-new/news/new-plan-englands-archaeology-archives-challenge/

The overarching aim of this new project is to understand how the museum and wider archaeological sector can be best supported to ensure a sustainable model for the long-term storage of archaeological archives. Specifically, this research and options appraisal will explore what capacity already exists, review its effectiveness, identify different potential models considering future needs and benefits. The project will estimate the level of resourcing required to ensure the sustainability of options presented, providing a comprehensive report to help inform next steps.

Registrations are closed

Rethinking archaeological archives - Workshop