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EnglishWhat is the Archaeology Data Service (ADS)?
Updated
The Archaeology Data Service (ADS) at archaeologydataservice.ac.uk is the digital repository for archaeology and heritage, built to support access, innovation, and research. It is the place to go if you want to find freely available archaeological project collections, reports, publications, and metadata records, or if you need to deposit your own data so it is professionally curated for long-term access and reuse. It also publishes Internet Archaeology, an open access, international, peer-reviewed journal.
What you can do on the site
The homepage organises activity around a few clear entry points:
- Search the database — search freely available, data-rich project collections, reports, publications, and metadata records.
- Deposit data with ADS — submit your data for professional curation and long-term accessibility.
- Help & guidance — including Instructions for Depositors, which covers how to prepare your data, compile your metadata, and deposit with the ADS.
- News & events — collection highlights, training announcements, and blog posts.
- Internet Archaeology — the open access digital journal, with a route to showcase your work by extending the reach and value of your data through a journal article.
Who it is for
| If you are… | The relevant part of ADS is… |
|---|---|
| A researcher or student looking for archaeological data | Search the database |
| Someone holding excavation or survey data | Deposit data with ADS, plus Instructions for Depositors |
| Preparing a deposit for the first time | Help & guidance and the ingest training sessions |
| Wanting to publish work tied to a dataset | Internet Archaeology |
What the collections look like
ADS collections are concrete research outputs, not just catalogue entries. The featured collection at the time of writing is the Digital Archive from the Programme of Archaeological Excavations on the Carlisle Northern Development Route. Oxford Archaeology excavated along the route from May 2008 to April 2011, uncovering key sites from the Mesolithic to the medieval period. The collection includes digital images from fieldwork: photographs of the excavations and excavated remains, overhead views and panoramas, aerial photographs, and primary records.
Other material highlighted on the site shows the same range — for example, infra-red imagery of the New Forest, excavation during the A1 Leeming to Barton Motorway Upgrade Scheme, underwater artefact photography from the Wheel Wreck, and data captured to create a photogrammetric model of the Pictish Craw Stone.
Depositing and training
Depositing with ADS is framed around long-term professional curation and future reuse, and the site provides Instructions for Depositors covering data preparation and metadata compilation. ADS also runs free online ingest training sessions; a new round was announced for August–December, four months after the launch of Ingest. If you are planning a deposit, booking a session is a practical way to learn the current workflow before you prepare your files.
Things to know before you rely on it
- The searchable collections, reports, publications, and metadata records are described as freely available; the site's pricing signals reference an "upgrade," so treat any paid or upgraded service as something to confirm on the relevant page rather than assume.
- ADS is a repository and journal publisher, not a general archaeology news site — its news and blog sections support the collections rather than replace them.
- If your goal is reuse, check the metadata record for the collection you find, since ADS emphasises metadata as part of what it hosts.