2. SUSTAINABILITY#

The aim of the Guide is to make archaeological archive practice throughout Europe consistent, in order to facilitate access to and the preservation of the archaeological record. This is achieved by producing standards and best practice for the creation, compilation, transfer and curation of archaeological archives that are sustainable and open to further development. An important effect of this initiative will be the management of sustainable archaeological archive repositories that promote the use of the resource they curate.

Once the Guide has been published the aim is to keep it relevant, up-to-date, and in use, thereby contributing to making the Archive repositories sustainable. This will be led and facilitated by the EAC Archaeological Archives Working Party.

The Guide will be:

• Cross-domain: The EAC Archaeological Archives Working Party will make connections between archaeology and other relevant domains of cultural heritage like the built environment and cultural landscape, but also the domains of archiving science, digital collection, computer science and information management.
• Participatory: It will be demand-driven by stakeholders and communities.
• Standards-oriented: It will use and connect to existing international standards in archiving and description of collections on paper and in (advanced) digital environments. The full sustainability policy produced by the ARCHES Partnership can be downloaded here.

Back to the Introduction to the Guide