iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

Don't forget to sign up for the latest ADS Newsletter, which comes out next Tuesday 20th November! ⭐ Inside: 🎉 30 years of the ADS 🔍 One year of the HSDS Catalogue of Services and more! 🎉 To sign up go to the ADS website homepage at buff.ly/4FqVL4L and click the 'Subscribe to newsletter' button!

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

🏺 Trowels to Terabytes! Nicky Garland from the ADS is speaking at UEA's @reproducibilitea.org on the re-use of heritage data at the ADS. 🗓 Tuesday 20 Oct, 2-3pm 💻 Online and free to all - buff.ly/BgQjVq6 ℹ️ Find out more here - buff.ly/9q2QXkD #archaeology #digtialpreservation

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

ADS is a world leader in promoting good practice in the use of digital data in archaeology and providing technical advice to the research community. As such ADS staff are encouraged to contribute to a wide variety of publications to publicise ADS activities and share our experience.

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Over our first thirty years the ADS has won many awards for our work on preserving and disseminating digital data. In 2012 we won the Digital Preservation Coalition’s Decennial award for the most important contribution to digital preservation AND a British Archaeological Award for Innovation.

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

The Library was built 2016-2019 as part of Phase 2 of the HERALD project. HERALD was the name given to the works undertaken by the ADS and funded by Historic England as part of its HIAS programme to improve public access to historic environment data.

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Digital preservation is at the heart of what we do, and it wouldn’t be possible without our amazing collections and archives team. From archiving collections big and small to raising awareness of the ADS as well as providing critical advice to depositors.

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

We deliver online and in person bespoke training to research organisations and practitioners in data management and digital archiving. We also have several training videos on our YouTube channel, as well as data management, access, and reuse guides on our website.

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Developed by the ADS and partners since 1996, The Guides to Good Practice have been produced in a number of formats. Produced by our amazing standards team, the Guides provide information on the best way to create, manage, and document digital data to enable preservation, access, and reuse.

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

🎉 The 30th anniversary of the ADS is growing closer, and we are counting down the days with our final highlight of ADS life. This week we are focusing on our teams and achievements across our services, starting with outreach. 🎉

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

While the core activity of the ADS is the long-term digital preservation of the data entrusted to our care, all resources archived with the ADS are Open Access, and delivered through our website to facilitate reuse by the heritage sector and wider community.

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Not everything you find in our archives are thousands of years old! Our archives also capture what it is like to be on sites and some of the more unexpected visitors you might find. To see what you can find explore some of our 2.5 million records in our data catalogue!

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Community archaeology groups across the UK play a significant role in investigating and reporting archaeological remains, contributing important work to our knowledge of heritage and history in the UK. Many reports of community based fieldwork and research are available for free via our website.

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

The Arch-I-Scan project, developed an image-recognition and machine-learning service, trained using collections from varying social and regional contexts in Roman Britain. This allowed Arch-I-Scan to recognise, record, and digitally collate large quantities of data from ceramic remains.

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Early medieval England thus witnessed a golden age of arable farming. How, when and why this transformation occurred are some of the most enduring questions in British agricultural history, but more than a century of landscape-historical research has failed to produce a consensus.

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

As part of HS2, archaeological investigation took place on the site of St James’s Burial Ground, a major 18th-19th century cemetery site. This led to over 100 archaeologists excavating and recording over 40,000 burials, the largest archaeological excavation of its kind ever undertaken in the UK.

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

HS2 brought an unprecedented opportunity to explore our past through the country's largest ever linear infrastructure project. As part of this project the ADS has been able to provide a single archive for all the data produced as a result of the fieldwork, safeguarding it for future generations.

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

The CVMA hosts over 28,000 images of stained glass, digitised between 1999 and 2004 This collection includes an advanced search interface, as well as an interactive map that displays the number and location of stained glass windows images. 👉 To find out more visit: lnkd.in/egA49_Hv

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

🏺 Collection Highlight 🏺 This week we would like to highlight a recently released archive: Illustrated Artefact Catalogue of Viking Inset Lead Weights from Britain and Ireland. This catalogue sits alongside a related article published in Internet Archaeology, To read more visit: buff.ly/0dvQ2g2

a detail shot of a decorated copper alloy inset

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Launched earlier this year, Ingest is our new digital repository deposit system designed to transform how heritage data is preserved and shared. Developed to streamline the process of depositing data and metadata, this system represents a significant advancement in our deposition capabilities.

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

ARENA (Archaeological Records of Europe Network Access Project) was the first venture of ADS into Europe. Starting in 2001, it aimed to promote preservation and access to digital data in European archaeology and investigate the possibility of creating a European information infrastructure.

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

ARIADNE began in 2013 as a project that brought together existing archaeological research data infrastructures across Europe. Its main output was the ARIADNE portal. The ADS played an important role publishing a number of new Guides and coordinating transnational access and training.

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

On 15 Sept 1998 we launched the first generation of ArchSearch, our first online catalogue of digital resources. Dame Rosemary Cramp, founding Chair of ADS Advisory Committee cut the ribbon to launch ArchSearch1. In a reminder of how much things have changed this was pre data projector days!

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

For the last 30 years, we have travelled across the globe, delivering presentations, attending workshops and conferences, providing training, and raising awareness through national workshops, enabling us to engage with new audiences, share our expertise, and promote the services we offer.

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Over the past 30 years, we’re proud that the ADS has been part of a range of research projects, working with European and International partners to improve the way archaeological data is preserved, shared and re-used.

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

We are back celebrating 30 years of the ADS, and this week we are focusing on some of our key projects and achievements over the years, starting with the @hsds-update.bsky.social! Through investment from RICHeS, the ADS were thrilled to launch the Heritage Science Data Service in late 2024!

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

In 1996 the ADS website looked quite different, and was most commonly viewed via Mosaic or Netscape Navigator. Access to the different sections was via buttons which resembled Rock Art decorated pebbles.

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Depositing your data with us ensures that they will be professionally curated in the long term and easily accessible for future reuse. There are six key reasons why you should deposit your data 👇

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Established in 2016, the Open Access Archaeology Fund aims to cover the Internet Archaeology publishing and ADS archiving costs of researchers who have no means of institutional support, and whose data is potentially more at risk.

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Depositing in our repository ensures that they will be professionally curated in the long term and easily accessible. Looking at the data types in 1996, it's clear that times have changed and, as the leading accredited digital repository for heritage data, we have changed along with it.

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

For the majority of our history the ADS has been based at The King’s Manor, a Grade I listed building in York city centre. This year after nearly 30 years, the ADS team said goodbye to King’s Manor for our new offices at the Guildhall, originally built as a meeting place for York’s medieval guilds

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

From our collections staff helping you deposit data to our developers constantly working to enhance our service, and our publications team ensuring we are at the forefront of national and international research, it is only due to our team's dedication and expertise that makes our work possible.

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Launched in 1995, 1 year before the ADS, Internet Archaeology is an international, open access journal for archaeology, based at the University of York. Edited by Judith Winters, IA publishes quality, peer-reviewed research that explores the potential of digital publication.

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

2026 marks our 30th anniversary! We'll be highlighting 30 things that have stood out in the last 30 years, reflecting on our history, achievements, and the people who have shaped the organisation. This week we want to focus on some of the things fundamental to the creation and success of the ADS.

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

📢 The next phase of our free Ingest training is now open! Sessions are online and run from Aug–Dec! 🔹 Introduction to Ingest — beginner training 🔹 Ingest in Practice — real world application Book online now - buff.ly/9BqsqTv #Archaeology #HeritageScience

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

CATS Week 2026! This July, our curatorial and technical staff took a break from archiving to discuss the major infrastructure changes in the last year! 👉 To find out more and read our latest blog written by Olivia Foster visit: buff.ly/acavBU5

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

⭐ New Blog Post Alert⭐ This weeks blog post, written by Dr Richard Lee, celebrates the Festival of Archaeology by highlighting some of the Community Archaeology collections that illustrate the breadth of public and volunteer activity across the UK. To find out more visit: buff.ly/75lqKQa

Visitors walking toward mossy stone ruins

A Father and son smiling at a table, using toothbrushes to clean dirt off finds

Students removing the large stones from the rubble fill of pit

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

⭐ New Blog Post Alert ⭐ Last month Archivists Burcu Aksahin and Marco Brunello, had the opportunity to represent the ADS and HSDS at the second ATRIUM Mutual Learning Exercise (MLE) held in Athens, Greece. Read about their experience and key takeaways here: buff.ly/ommgfEp

Marco Brunello placing a sticky note on a white board as part of a collective discussion activity

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

🌳 The Festival of Archaeology 2026 is here! 🌳 One of the ways we are celebrating this year is with our new self-guided walking route around Ilkley Moor, one of Britain's richest prehistoric rock art landscapes. To find out more or download the walking guide visit: buff.ly/QNptUoP

two people stood on a rock formation on Ilkley Moor

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

📖 Between the Fictional and Real Archive 💿️ The stereotype of dust covered archives can be seen throughout media. The focus of this weeks blog post by Leonora Fane-Saunders, focuses on the how closely work at the ADS mirrors this depiction of archives. To read the full post visit: buff.ly/GzLEVYF

image of students visiting a fashion store archive

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Last month the ADS moved to our new office at the Guildhall! Fittingly, @intarcheditor.bsky.social has also recently published the excavations from the annexe, offering a look into the site's long and varied past. To read the Guildhall paper visit: archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/news-events/...

A view of the outside of the guildhall from the opposite bank of the river Ouse

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

This week marks World Wellbeing Week! Internet Archaeology has recently released Issue 73: Wellbeing and Archaeology. To find out more about this collection of articles highlighting the power of heritage to improve wellbeing, visit: buff.ly/thuFluE

A young girl proudly holds up discovered pottery sherd

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

🏺 Free Expert-Led Training on the Reactive Digital Twin 🏺 Thirteen episodes of the ARTEMIS Learning Series are now available, guiding you through the full life of the Reactive Heritage Digital Twin, from the founding idea to the operational system. To watch the series visit: buff.ly/ybPigzf

A composite image showing all the speakers of the ARTEMIS learning series

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

📢 Non-UK archaeology & heritage researchers: the deadline to apply for the ADS Transnational Access Training School has been extended to Friday 19 June! 🗓 12–16 Oct 2026 | University of York, UK Learn to map your data to the ARIADNE Portal. No experience needed! Apply 👉 buff.ly/ZH3fvZq

A picture of the York Guildhall, York, UK. University of York/Alex Holland

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

Last week staff from ADS and HSDS headed to the CIfA Annual Conference. This year’s theme, Building Connections’ aimed to showcase archaeological practice and innovation, providing a place for discussion and learning. To read more about the conference visit: buff.ly/ASRK0Mk ‎

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

The ADS Training Portal is now live — free, openly licensed resources on digital preservation and data management for the archaeological community. All materials carry DOIs, CC BY 4.0 licences, and full citations. New resources added every quarter. 👉 buff.ly/al9ZyTV #Archaeology #OpenAccess

A schematic of the ADS Archiving workflow

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

Reporting live from #CIfA2026 in Edinburgh! As part of a fantastic session on "Large Infrastructure Projects," Katie Green gave an insightful update on the future of archaeological data management, walking us through the shift to the new Ingest system and its improvements.

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

🏺Our new deposit system - Ingest - is now live! Register now, view our online guidance and sign up for free training! No prior experience needed. Find out more here: buff.ly/lrK8CV3 #DigitalArchaeology #DigitalPreservation

A computer with the text 'Welcome to Ingest'

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

💾 Digital Cleanup Day 2026 🫧 This year, we held our very first ADS/HSDS Digital Clean-up Day on Friday 20th March to reduce the digital waste in our computers and servers. Over the day we got rid of 4.73 TB of clutter! To find out more about the event visit: buff.ly/cfAdlyf

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

We are excited to announce that on the 29th April the ADS will be launching two new OASIS+ modules in Archaeobotany and Zooarchaeology! Both new modules will be launched at a focused workshop at the CIfA conference this year! To find out more about this update and workshop, visit: buff.ly/tPGRZmN

The drawing shows a sculptural relief, possibly Roman (or Renaissance?), of a team of oxen pulling a plough beneath a tree in leaf, the bearded ploughman is wearing a long tunic and boots.

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Archaeology Data Service @ads-update.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Our new blog post explores an updated version of the 'Oxford Expedition to Egypt: Scene-details Database'. This update gives the database a new lease of life, making it more accessible and user-friendly for years to come. To read this weeks blog post visit: buff.ly/gtncjCm

A line drawing of an Egyptian panel featuring a person farming, cows, and hieroglyphs

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