Society for Museum Archaeology 2025 Conference
Society for Museum Archaeology 2025 Conference: Celebrating 50 Years of SMA
— Kent Archaeological Society
13th and 14th November, Liverpool Museum
KAS Curator Andy Ward will be speaking on Community Archaeological Archives: A Perspective from Kent.
As with many counties in the UK, Kent is no stranger to the challenges of archaeological stores and museums running out of space. However, the primary focus of government and large organisations has been on that facing the commercial archaeology sector — but what of the local archaeological archives?
Across our county there are large and potentially significant collections stored in various places and in various conditions, having been gathered by community groups, local archaeological and historical societies, and keen amateur archaeologists. These archives often present a somewhat grey area when it comes to discussions regarding the storage crisis we all face. They often have little or no documentation regarding the transfer of title, permissions or published reports, primarily because these local groups and individuals often do not know where to begin.
As the County Society for Kent, we have been liaising with numerous local groups about the challenges they face in storing their archaeological archives, knowing how to care for them, finding funding, and searching for an eventual home — a challenge which has been raised in Kent since at least the early 20th century.
My presentation will raise some of these questions and put forward possible solutions which the Kent Archaeological Society are exploring. We do not hold all the answers but see wider collaboration with the heritage sector, educational institutions and museums as being a possible avenue for the often murky, grey area that constitutes local community group archives and those collected historically by interested amateur archaeologists.
More details:
https://www.kentarchaeology.org.uk/events/society-for-museum-archaeology-2025-conference-celebrating-50-years-of-sma
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