Archaeological Archives Group





Annual conference call for papers

We will be holding our annual conference and AGM on 26 September 2024 in Wellingborough. Booking details to follow.

The theme for this year's Archaeological Archives conference will be getting back to basics and reminding ourselves why we all get together in the first place - to share good practice and celebrate archaeological archives!
We encourage all professionals and students working on archaeological archives to apply.

Please take a look at our call for papers pdf here

If you are interested in presenting your work or have any questions, please contact archaeologicalarchives [at] gmail.com by our deadline of Friday 14 June.

Background

The AAG was founded in 2012 following the Southport Report, and since then its membership has increased steadily. The group holds an annual day conference tackling a different issue of archiving each year, as well as running ad hoc workshops. So far the four committees have successfully brought together colleagues from across the sector advising on relevant enquiries both on local and national levels.
The committee have also developed the toolkit for selecting archaeological archives alongside other toolkits

Aims

The aims of the group are

  • to focus upon issues relating to professional standards, best practice, advocacy and access
  • to promote of awareness of archaeological archives within the profession
  • to represent the interest of those working with archives to CIfA Council and in all CIfA activities
  • to hold seminars and workshops to facilitate the above
  • to establish relationships with other groups associated with archaeological archives

Join the Group

Membership is free to CIfA members through the Members area login. Those who are not members of the institute will need to pay an annual £10 fee and can join here

Twitter: follow Archives group on Twitter
Facebook: like the Archives Group on Facebook
Group Email: please email images, events, good news, articles and links to archaeologicalarchives [at] gmail.com

Committee

Sam Paul (Chair)
Vikki Sands (Secretary)
Helen Parslow (Treasurer)
Hazel O'Neill
Jess Irwin
Kerry Whitehouse
Teagan Zoldoske
Jasmine Tomys
Katherine Hamilton (Advisor)

Committee bios


Dr Sam Paul, PhD, MCIfA (Chair)
Sam is a freelance heritage and museums consultant (Sam Paul Heritage) specialising in the sustainable development of archaeological archives and museum collections. She has written county-wide guidelines on the transfer and accessioning of archaeological archives for the museums in Gloucestershire and Herefordshire, and most recently, was part of the team reporting to the Arts Council England and Historic England on sustainable national approaches to ensure the future of archaeological archiving in England.

Vikki Sands, BA Hons, MSc, ACIfA (Secretary)
Vikki has been a Senior Post-Excavation Assistant for Colchester Archaeological Trust since 2021, previously having worked in the museum sector and as a field archaeologist. She is involved in a variety of tasks including archiving, volunteer and work experience management, public engagement, social media management and events. In her spare time, Vikki is working towards a master’s qualification at the University of Cambridge in Early Modern History.

Helen Parslow, MCIfA (Treasurer)
Helen has been the Archives Officer at Albion Archaeology since 2004. She is responsible for the archiving of the physical, documentary and digital archives. She is also involved in the outreach and helps run the Bedford Young Archaeologists Club. She is also on the committee of the Archaeological Archives Forum.

Hazel O’Neill, BA Hons, MA, ACIfA
Hazel has worked in professional archaeology since 2007, working first as a field archaeologist before moving to archives in 2014. Hazel is Senior Archives Officer at Cotswold Archaeology, where she manages the archives across the company’s four offices. Hazel sits on the OASIS Management Board and has a particular interest in, and wide experience of, museum deselection projects.

Jess Irwin, BSc Hons, MIoL, MCIfA
Jess is the lead archivist at Wessex Archaeology, responsible for overseeing the management of the archives team across five national offices. Based in Sheffield she started in archives in 2013 as the finds and archives Supervisor for Wessex North, having previously worked as a field archaeologist in the UK and abroad from 1999. Having become an accredited member in 2015, Jess represents CIfA and the AAG on the OASIS Management Board. Outside of work she loves decorating novelty cakes, reading, and building elaborate Lego constructions with her two children.

Kerry Whitehouse, BA Hons, PGCert, PCIfA
Archaeological Archivist for Worcestershire Archaeology since 2020 and Curatorial Officer/Registrar for Museums Worcestershire since 2016.

Teagan Zoldoske, BSc, MSc (Advisor)
Teagan is responsible for accessioning and archiving High Speed 2 datasets deposited with the ADS, creation of interconnected interfaces for HS2 archives (including database and spatial searches), providing technical advice to HS2 Depositors and Stakeholders, and raising awareness of ADS collections and services.

Katherine Hamilton, BA (Hons), MLitt, FSA Scot (Advisor)
Katherine has worked in archives at Oxford Archaeology (Cambridge) since 2016, first as Archives Supervisor, and from 2023 as Archives Project Officer; previously working as a field archaeologist in the commercial sector. Her role involves the preparation and deposition of physical and digital archives, liaising with stakeholders, and providing training for inhouse staff and volunteers, amongst other things. Outwith archiving, her interests lie in the early

Specialist competence matrix

This specialist matrix is to assist applicants and the Validation committee to see where you demonstrate the grade applied for when working with archives.

Future events

For information about upcoming events, please visit our event calendar.

Previous events

Three-year plan

Group-three-year-plan 2022-2025

AGM minutes

EGM Minutes - 1 November 2022
AGM Minutes - 28 September 2022

Committee minutes

Minutes 16 January 2024
Minutes 14 Sept 2023
Minutes 18 May 2023
Minutes 18 Jan 2023
Minutes 8 Sept 2022
Minutes 12 May 2022
Minutes 19 January 2022