UK Archeological Finds Database

[Steve Herschbach]

"The Portable Antiquities Scheme's database holds records of archaeological finds discovered by members of the public. These are found while carrying out a wide range of activities including metal-detecting. Our first record was made in 1998, the half-million mark was reached in March 2010, and our millionth object, a Roman coin from the Seaton hoard, was recorded in September 2014.

Our database is easy to search, and your search results can be filtered to find just the data you want. You can find tips on searching the database here.

Our records are available with differing levels of information, depending on your user account. The Scheme is very willing to give research access to researchers who register with us for higher-level access. An ever increasing body of research is now being conducted on our collated data, enabling some very high-calibre work with great success in obtaining AHRC and other sources of funding.

We do not record details of objects found by professional archaeologists (details of these can be found by contacting your local Historic Environment Record) but we do occasionally incorporate data recorded by other institutions. In March 2010 we added the records of the Oxford University Celtic Coin Index (CCI- prefix) and Cardiff University's Iron Age and Roman coins of Wales project (IARCW- prefix). These records complement the data that the Scheme collects itself, but the information has been imported from a different data model, so images and inscriptions are not always available. We do not have access to the objects to improve this situation.

Most of our images are available under a CC-BY licence. We encourage people to use our data and images as widely as possible. Enjoy!"

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