Historic England NRHE Index to Microfilmed Archaeological Archives
Historic England, 1998. (updated 2002)
Data copyright © Historic England unless otherwise stated
This work is licensed under the ADS Terms of Use and Access.
Primary contact
Historic England
Kemble Drive
Swindon
SN2 2GZ
England
Tel: 01793 414700
Fax: 01793 414707
Resource identifiers
- ADS Collection: 3
The Microfilm Index (MI) describes all those archaeological archives for which the National Record of the Historic Environment (NRHE) holds microfilm copies. Historic England NRHE's microfilm programme has been running for the last 20 years, and the collection comprises archive obtained from a variety of sources, including archaeological units, museums and Historic England. The remit of the Microfilm Collection has always been much wider than that of the Excavation Index, so in addition to excavations, evaluations, watching briefs and geophysical surveys, there is also archive for building surveys, desk-based assessments and fieldwalking projects.
Microfilm is widely used to capture the extensive records - photographs, plans, context and finds record cards - created during the archaeological recording process. Image taken from NRHE Publications Photographic Library © Historic England NRHE.
Current microfilm submitters are mostly archaeological units who choose to deposit their microfilm masters or silvers with the NRHE for curation. They also supply a working reference copy or diazo for dissemination purposes.
The MI is the management tool and catalogue for this collection of material. The fields supplied for each event to the Archaeology Data Service form a subset of the full computerised record held at the National Record of the Historic Environment and comprise:
- Primary Record Number (PRN) (the NRHE's own identifier)
- Site Name
- County (uses administrative boundaries prior to the introduction of unitary authorities from 1996 onwards)
- Civil parish and non-parish area
- National Grid Reference (to 1 kilometre)
- Period (uses terms listed in Recording England's Past: a Data Standard for the Extended National Archaeological Record RCHME/ACAO 1993)
- Type (uses terms listed in Thesaurus of Monument Types: a Standard for Use in Archaeological and Architectural Records RCHME/EH 1995)
- Event Type
- Source Institution
- Date of fieldwork
Fuller information from the MI for all events is available from NRHE Public Services. This includes a list of sources, more detailed national grid references, and details of the microfilms themselves.
The data set currently available through the ADS remains under development. Specifically, Type information is not always displayed.
Please contact NRHE Public Services if you would like the most recent version of the database checked.
The microfilms can be viewed at the National Record of the Historic Environment Centre: as a small amount of material is on restricted access please contact NRHE Public Services ahead of any visit if you would like to consult any of these records. If you wish to discuss depositing microfilmed archives with the RCHME please contact Historic England at the address in the sidebar.
Please contact NRHE Public Services if you have any queries about the MI records or require further information. All data provided from the Microfilm Index is supplied for internal purposes or private research, and the user is not entitled to copy or reproduce information originating from the NRHE in the public domain without the written permission of the copyright holder.
