OASIS: Online AccesS to the Index of archaeological investigationS


OASIS useage map for England Northumberland North Yorkshire Cumbria Tyne and Wear Durham Old county of Cleveland Lancashire West Yorkshire Former county of Humberside Merseyside Greater Manchester South Yorkshire Cheshire Derbyshire Staffordshire Nottinghamshire Lincolnshire Leicestershire West Midlands Shropshire Hereford and Worcester Warwickshire Norfolk Cambridgeshire Suffolk Northamptonshire Bedfordshire Gloucestershire Oxfordshire Buckinghamshire Hertfordshire Essex London Kent East Sussex Surrey West Sussex Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Berkshire Wiltshire Former county of Avon Somerset Dorset Devon Cornwall

The OASIS project brings together a number of strategic partners: the Archaeology Data Service, the Archaeological Investigations Project (AIP) of Bournemouth University, the National Heritage Protection Commissions Programme, and the National Monuments Record of English Heritage, under the umbrella of the University of York.

The overall aim of the OASIS project is to provide an online index to the mass of archaeological grey literature that has been produced as a result of the advent of large-scale developer funded fieldwork and a similar increase in fieldwork undertaken by volunteers. As part of this overall vision, the OASIS data capture form has been designed to help in the flow of information from data producers, such as contracting units and community groups, through to local and national data managers, such as SMRs and NMRs. The resulting information will be validated by the relevant NMR and passed onto the ADS for inclusion in its online catalogue ArchSearch. The inclusion of information in ArchSearch will enable users to search for the latest information pertaining to a particular site, type of monument and so on and either provide direct web links through to the grey literature reports or at least act as a pointer to the physical holding place of a report or archive. Grey literature reports are also being made available directly through the ADS Library, where it will be possible to search and retrieve reports based on a variety of different data fields. It is hoped that the OASIS project will facilitate the rapid flow of information from producer to user.

If you would like further information about the project please see the FAQ on the relationship between OASIS and HERs, EI and AIP. Alternatively, for advice on data entry and use of the OASIS form or a copy of the OASIS manual, please email English Heritage. For technical advice, please contact the ADS Technical Team.

The map (right) is intended as a rough guide to OASIS take-up within England. Counties where the OASIS form is in use are shaded purple. Click on any of the purple areas for more specific information on OASIS usage within that county.

OASIS: