We are grateful to be offered material, but are strict about what we accept. Generally, we only accept objects that say something unique and specific about the historic county of Kent including Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Lewisham, and the Medway Districts, its environment and its people, and items that do not duplicate those already in the society’s collections and which come with rich supporting information.

The Society will consider accepting objects collected historically through either fieldwalking, purchase, or other collections processes in line with its active collections policy. However, these objects will only be considered for acquisition where legal title can be secured and provenance is well documented or can be reasonably established.

With our collection containing c. 10,000 artefacts, we have a process of deciding on suitable donations through an Accessions Panel consisting of the Curator, Archivist, Manager / Deputy Manager and a Trustee. This panel discusses items which are offered and will identify any gaps for future acquisitions. Items deemed suitable will be entered into the society’s permanent collection; with a letter of thanks sent to the Donor.

If you would like to donate an item to the society, please contact the curator with details and images of the item(s) (curator@kentarchaeology.org.uk), and they will be considered for the collection. Unfortunately we cannot accept all items offered, and will not accept items bought in without prior arrangement.