1. EAC Archaeological Archives Working Party Report on progress to date

2. Membership of the Working Party BelgiumNetherlands Czech Republic Republic of Ireland France Slovakia Germany Switzerland HungaryUnited Kingdom Iceland

3. 5 th Working Party Meeting February 2009 in London

4. Working Party Aims  To link together in partnership EAC member countries with an interest in archaeological archives in order that common policies and practice of mutual benefit can be developed and applied.  To identify the courses of action necessary to further best practice in the field of archaeological archives and to effect the means to achieve this action.

5. Agreed Common Definition of an Archaeological Archive Archaeological archives are all moveable remains/heritage, data and documentation from any archaeological observation or intervention  An archaeological archive should be permanently preserved in a recognised facility;  Every archaeological activity should aim to produce a structured, complete, stable and accessible archive;  Standards for the preparation and management of the archaeological archive must be set out, understood and agreed at the beginning of any archaeological activity.

6. Discussion topics  Storage issues  Digital archives  Marine, coastal, wetland archives  Selection, retention and dispersal  Archives – best practice guidance

7. Digital Archives Some Issues:  Archive consideration at outset of the work  Security  Active management and repositories  Inclusion in European guidance of prime importance

8. Selection, Retention, Dispersal Controversial topic and the group had lively debates! Agreed that: o Selection criteria must be set against agreed research objectives o Framework for selection will be included in guidance setting out:

9. Selection, Retention, Dispersal  The case for and policy on selection procedures  The archaeological process  Roles and responsibilities  Decision making points  Consultation processes

10. Archaeological Archive Guidance  The project design is in preparation as a Culture 2007-11 bid and will be submitted this October  The guidance will contain:  A description of the archaeological process; its personnel, activities and tasks  The standards for archaeological archives  Selection and retention  Archive transfer  European variations

11. Liaison with Society of American Archaeologists.  Organised very successful session on archaeological archiving issues at the SAA Conference in Vancouver last year  4 of our working party members gave presentations.  This conference session is about to become an SAA publication.  The SAA have supplied a representative to the working party who is acting as a formal liaison between the two groups.  The SAA hope to produce their own guidance following the model we are developing and using lessons learnt from our experiences.