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Holes in the Archaeological Record? A Comparison of National Event Databases for the Historic Environment in England

2013; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 4; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1179/1756750513z.00000000023

1756-7513

Tim Evans,

Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation

This article examines the three principal sources for recording archaeological fieldwork in England: the National Monuments Record (NMR) Excavation Index, the Archaeological Investigations Project (AIP), and Online AccesS to the Index of archaeological investigationS (OASIS), comparing the holdings for each system covering the period 1990 to 2007. The study finds that the Excavation Index currently records significantly more information, but is underused and unheralded by the research sector. In addition, all systems are compared to the event database of Staffordshire’s Historic Environment Record (HER); despite inconsistencies in recording methodology the Excavation Index can be seen to record the most events when compared to this resource. The study concludes that, despite admirable work, the AIP has significant gaps in coverage based on methodology, and OASIS has gaps through uptake and consistent use of the system. The Excavation Index therefore acts as an overarching aggregator, but still has lacunae. The need to broach these gaps via an integrated system and recording standards is recommended. Furthermore, the need for reflective meta-analyses of data sources is encouraged in order to promote understanding of the limitations, as well as the opportunities, for data management and research.