OASIS (Scotland) project is a strategic partnership across the professional archaeological community in Scotland. Supported by Historic Scotland, the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) and the Local Authority Archaeologists, OASIS (Scotland) builds upon the original OASIS project undertaken in England by the Archaeology Data Service, University of York.
The project complements and encourages the continued reporting of fieldwork to the wider public through Archaeology Scotland's annual publication Discovery and Excavation in Scotland. Underpinned by the ASPIRE protocol, the OASIS data capture form has been designed to help the reporting of information from developer-funded archaeological fieldwork by data producers, such as contracting units, to the local authority archaeology Sites and Monuments Record / Historic Environment Record (SMR/HER) community and to the database and archives of the RCAHMS. The data capture form provides the opportunity to upload digital copies of both completed project archive reports (grey literature) as well as files defining the geographical extents of projects.
On completion, information gathered through OASIS will be validated by the relevant curatorial body (usually the SMR/HER) before inclusion in the respective local and national databases and Geographic Information Systems. Copies of the grey literature reports will be held at the relevant SMR/HER as part of their records management systems and at the archives of the RCAHMS, not only for long-term preservation but also to provide an additional online delivery through CANMORE.
Open access to information gathered through OASIS is encouraged through online resources, principally, the ADS ArchSearch catalogue, PASTMAP and CANMORE. From these sites users may search for information on fieldwork by particular area, type of monument, or by the name of a contributing archaeologist or contracting unit. Search results will provide links to grey literature reports, available directly from the RCAHMS CANMORE website.
OASIS is a partnership between the private and public sectors. It ensures efficient, effective and economic collection, management and dissemination of information for the benefit of the entire archaeological and wider community of Scotland and beyond.
OASIS has been adopted nationally by Scottish Local Authority archaeologists as part of the requirements for reporting developer funded archaeology in Scotland. Click on the map for contact details for each council area.