The most useful single source of archaeological information in Britain is probably the Archaeological Data Service of the Arts and Humanities Data Service, a government funded project held at the University of York. They have three main databases. The main one consists of information mostly from the card indexes of the former Royal Commission on Historical Monuments, which should at least say whether there is any information, even if it rarely tells you what that information is. There is a slightly fuller coverage for London and York.

By clicking on their 'Special Collections' button, it is possible also to find the British and Irish Archaeological Bibliography, with details of articles published between 1695 to 1991, sometimes with a synopsis ; and also the Catalogue of the Library of the Society of Antiquaries, though this is currently unavailable .

For Scotland there is 'Canmore' a database name after the first Scottish King, Malcolm III, (crowned1058), which provides a slightly wider range of information. This lists some of the holdings of the Royal Commission of Ancient and Historical Monuments (Scotland).

For People and Organisations try our Directory of British Archaeology.

Finally, if all else fails, ask a question on-line. Join Britarch, the splendid list server run by impeccably by Mike Heyworth for the Council for British Archaeology. If you post a question on this, there is a good chance that you will eventually get some sort of answer: they may sometimes be wrong, but often they are very learned.

To join, send the following email message to
mailbase@mailbase.ac.uk
join britarch firstname lastname

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Created: 28th January 2000