Subject Guides: Archaeology: Find resources

Books

YorSearch: Use YorSearch, the Library catalogue, to find books, using the author's name and/or title keywords. Some books will be available as e-books that you can access online from anywhere; look for the View Online link in YorSearch.

Remember to place a request on a book if all the copies are out on loan - this way you'll get the book in a few days!

The main Archaeology section is on the second floor of the Morrell Library. There is also a small selection of Archaeology texts at the King's Manor Library. Look out for gems in our collection, like the Institute for Advanced Architectural Studies collection at King's Manor.

Click here to see Archaeology shelf locations

069	Museums
C	Religion
C 91.35	Sacred places
C 92	Greek & Roman religion
C 93	Teutonic & Norse religion
C 99.16	Celtic religion
D	Social Sciences
D 1.36	Urban history

EA	Anthropology
EE 3	Death and burial
G	Economics
G 0.9	Economic history
G 0.937	Economic history of Ancient Rome
G 0.938	Economic history of Ancient Greece
L	Fine arts
L 9	History of art
L 9.01	Ancient art
L 9.02	Medieval art
LB	Architecture
LG	Sculpture
LG 7	Numismatics
LG 8	Ceramics
LG 9	Metalwork
N	Geography
N 1	Historical geography
N 1.42	Historical geography of Britain
N 2	Maps and atlases
N 5.9	Surveying
N 40	Geography of Europe
N 42	Geography of Britain
P	Archaeology
P 0.1	Archaeological theory
P 0.18	Archaeological method
P 0.181	Excavation
P 0.185	Scientific methods
P 0.1852	Environmental archaeology

P 0.186	Social archaeology and ethnoarchaeology
P 0.9	History of archaeology
P 0.92	Biographies of archaeologists
P 1	Prehistoric archaeology
P 30	Archaeology of the ancient world
P 40	Archaeology of Europe
P 42	Archaeology of Britain
P 42.741	Archaeology of York
P 50	Archaeology of Asia
P 60	Archaeology of Africa
P 70	Archaeology of North America
P 94	Archaeology of Australia
Q	History
Q 30	Ancient history
Q 40	History of Europe
Q 40.1	The Middle Ages
Q 42	History of Britain
Q 42.741	History of York

SK	Computer Science
SK 98.N	Geographic information systems
SK 98.P	Computers in archaeology (See also: P 0.1851)
W	Geology
WA	Environmental Geology
X	Biology
XJ	Anatomy
XJ 6.7	Animal bones
XJ 8.971	Human bones
XR	Palaeontology
XV	Palaeobotany
XY	Palaeozoology
Z	Technology
Z 09	History of technology

Using ebooks

The Library subscribes to individual ebook titles as well as ebook collections. You can search for individual ebook titles on YorSearch. For some titles you will see we also have the print version.

Ebook collections can be found in the E-resources Guide which lists our e-resources alphabetically by title and by subject. You can access a resource by clicking on the title.

Because ebooks are provided by different publishers you will find that the interface and various features differ between them. The information contained in this guide should help you when accessing and navigating ebooks, and please do contact the Library if you're having trouble.

Please be aware that in cases where publishers restrict the number of simultaneous users for ebooks, the Library monitors ebook turn-aways (this is where the limit of users has been reached) and purchases extra copies of ebooks when a turn-away happens more than once. In addition, if you think we should purchase an extra copy of an ebook, please let the Academic Liaison Librarian for Archaeology know.

Further Archaeology resources

If you know the name of the journal you need, you can search for it in YorSearch. Remember to search for the journal title, not the article title!

Most journals can be accessed online by logging in with your University username and password; look for the View Online link. Some will only be available in print in the Library; click on Find in Library to check what print copies are available and where they are shelved.

Alternatively you can browse our electronic resources for relevant material.

Click on the next tab to explore...

This is a selection of useful Archaeology resources. To browse further e-resources available at York visit the E-resources Guide.

Annual Register: A Record of World Events (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
A year-by-year record of British and world events, published annually since 1758.

Accessibility information
Anthropological Index Online This link opens in a new window
Index to current periodicals in the Museum of Mankind Library (incorporating the former Royal Anthropological Institute library).
AnthroSource This link opens in a new window
AnthroSource is a fully integrated information resource. Its powerful search engine makes precision research quick and easy.

AnthroSource is more than a content collection. It is an evolving, interactive repository of research and communications tools designed to bring the most credible and relevant of anthropological scholarship together in one place and to support a strong community of scholars, teachers, and students in the field.

Accessibility information

Archaeology Data Service
ArchSearch - national sites and monuments metadata
Archives - data-rich archaeological collections
ADS Library - journals, books and reports; incorporating BIAB.

Based in York, the Archaeology Data Service supports research, learning and teaching with freely available, high quality and dependable digital resources. It does this by preserving digital data in the long term, and by promoting and disseminating a broad range of data in archaeology. The ADS promotes good practice in the use of digital data in archaeology, it provides technical advice to the research community, and supports the deployment of digital technologies.

BAR Digital Collection Archive (1974-2019) This link opens in a new window
This collection gives access to over 3,000 archaeology reports from BAR Publishing published between 1974 and 2019, including more than 2,500 reports from the BAR International Series and over 500 reports from the BAR British Series.

The collection encompasses all periods from prehistory, through classical archaeology, to 20th century archaeology around the globe. The reports are presented as data rich monographs, edited collections of papers, excavation and site reports and conference proceedings.

Please note that the University does not have access to reports published from 2020 onward.

Accessibility information
BIAB: the British & Irish Archaeological Bibliography This link opens in a new window
The biab online database contains datasets covering publications from AD 1695 to the present day on archaeology and the historic environment, historic buildings, maritime and industrial archaeology, environmental history, and the conservation of material culture - with a geographical focus on Britain and Ireland.

Accessibility information
Bibliography of British and Irish History (Brepolis) This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Previously known as the Royal Historical Society Bibliography this is a comprehensive guide to historical writing about the history of Britain, Ireland, and the British overseas from 55BC to the present.

For help with this resource, take a look at our Quick Guide.
C19: The Nineteenth Century Index (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
The legacy C19 Index site is still available until 30th April 2023.
C19: The Nineteenth Century Index is the major bibliographic resource for 19th century research, providing integrated access to 10 indexes covering books, official publications, archives, newspapers, and periodicals at the article level. Currently C19 contains nearly 17 million records but is continuously updated as more records become available.

Accessibility information
Cambridge Histories Online This link opens in a new window
The full-text of volumes from the Cambridge Histories series. The volumes are grouped into topics covering: American History; British History; Economic History; General History; History of Science; History of the Book; Language and Linguistics; Literary Studies; Music; Philosophy; Political and Social Theory; Regional History; Religious Studies; Theatre Studies and Performing Arts; Warfare.

Accessibility information
Digimap This link opens in a new window
You will need to register for an account the first time you access Digimap.
Maps and map data of Great Britain. The University subscribes to:

- Digimap Ordnance Survey Collection
- Historic Digimap
- Geology Digimap
- Marine Digimap
- Environment Digimap
- Aerial Digimap
- Lidar Digimap

For Digimap help and information see the Digimap Resource Centre.

Accessibility information
Early English Books Online (EEBO) This link opens in a new window
Contains over 100,000 titles listed in Pollard & Redgrave's Short-Title Catalogue (1475-1640), Wing's Short-Title Catalogue (1641-1700), and the Thomason Tracts (1640-1661).

Accessibility information
eHRAF Archaeology This link opens in a new window
eHRAF Archaeology focuses on in-depth descriptive documents of mostly prehistoric archaeological traditions from around the world. The information is organized by tradition, region, subregion and subsistence type and is indexed at the paragraph level by Human Relations Area Files anthropologists using unique subject identifier codes from the Outline of Cultural Materials (OCM).

Accessibility information
eHRAF World Cultures This link opens in a new window
eHRAF World Cultures contains ethnographic collections covering all aspects of cultural and social life from historical to contemporary time periods. The contents are organized by regions, subregions, and cultures and cover over 300 cultures. The material is indexed at the paragraph level by Human Relations Area Files anthropologists using unique subject identifier codes from the Outline of Cultural Materials (OCM).

Accessibility information
Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO) This link opens in a new window
Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO) is the most ambitious single digitisation project ever undertaken which offers wide access not only to a century of the nation's intellectual heritage, but also works from earlier periods which were valued and printed or reprinted during the eighteenth century.

A library of over 180,000 eighteenth-century printed books, with more than 33 million scanned facsimile pages. Each title has a full citation record from the English Short Title Catalogue and is fully searchable - including full-text and illustrations multi-disciplinary. A research resource for all disciplines.

For help with this resource, take a look at our Quick Guide.

Accessibility information
Europeana: the cultural collections of Europe This link opens in a new window
A portal which gives access to digitized books, maps, photographs, film clips, newspapers, paintings, museum objects and archival records drawn from Europe's museums, libraries, archives and audio-visual collections.

Accessibility information
Humanities Index (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
Formerly British Humanities Index.
An international abstracting and indexing tool for research in the humanities which indexes over 320 internationally respected humanities journals and weekly magazines, as well as quality newspapers published in the UK and the United States.

Accessibility information
International Medieval Bibliography Online (Brepolis) This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
This is an interdisciplinary bibliography of the Middle Ages, covering Europe, the Middle East and North Africa in the period 400-1500.

The publication years covered by this resource are from 1967 onwards.

For help with this resource, take a look at our Quick Guide.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
For alumni access please contact the University of York Alumni Association.

Due to COVID-19 the provider has made additional journal content available until 30th June 2023.
A digital archive collection of core scholarly journals starting with the first issues (many of which date from the 1800s). See JSTOR's online help guide for further information.

Accessibility information
Locating London's Past This link opens in a new window
An interactive map, exploring the social history of early modern and eighteenth century London. Information is drawn from a variety of resources, and includes trial acts from the Old Bailey and archaeological data.
New Pauly Online (Brill) This link opens in a new window
New Pauly Online consists of the complete original Der Neue Pauly in German and Brills New Pauly, the English translation of this major encyclopaedia of the ancient world. Brills New Pauly is automatically updated when a new volume is published. Please note that if you are using this resource from a PC which is not on the University network you may need to download and install new fonts in order to display the special characters used in the articles and entries. Advice about recommended fonts can be found on the Brill Online help page.

Accessibility information
Nexis This link opens in a new window
Nexis is a major source of global news and business information. It provides full-text access to over 34,000 publications, with more than 12,000 news sources including UK daily and regional newspapers, current affairs magazines, and professional journals. Updated daily; back issues archive varies by title.

Nexis also includes 80 sources of company information, plus thousands of biographies of government officials, politicians, celebrities, investors and business contacts.

Accessibility information
Oxford Handbooks Online: Archaeology This link opens in a new window
Access to the full text of complete titles and chapters from titles not yet available in print. You will have access to all content published online up to and including the year 2022, plus selected individual titles.

Accessibility information
Periodicals Archive Online This link opens in a new window
A major online archive that makes the backfiles of periodicals in the humanities and social sciences available electronically, providing access to the page image of a growing number of digitized periodicals that are already indexed in the Periodicals Contents Index (PCI).

The University has access to Collections 1, 2 and 8 plus a selection of 130 titles purchased by JISC drawn from other collections.

For help with this resource, take a look at our Quick Guide.

Accessibility information
Science Direct This link opens in a new window
The world's largest full-text scientific database of journals in the life, physical, medical, technical and social sciences.

Accessibility information
Scopus This link opens in a new window
Personalisation options are available via the link above.

Alternative link without personalisation if you have problems with the link above (please clear the cookies and cache in your browser): Scopus.
An abstracting, indexing and citation database covering peer-reviewed research literature and web sources in the natural sciences and medicine, social sciences, arts and humanities.

For help with this resource, take a look at our Quick Guide.
For help using this resource for bibliometrics see Bibliometrics: a practical guide.
For further information about Scopus metrics see Elsevier's Research Metrics Guidebook.

Accessibility information
Scran This link opens in a new window
Access to Scran is free until 31st March 2023 due to COVID-19.
Scran gives educational access to digital materials representing material culture and history via an archive of almost 500,000 images, videos and audio tracks sourced from museums, galleries, archives and media organisations.

The materials in Scran can be accessed and used under the terms of an institutional licence.

Accessibility information
University Press Scholarship Online: Archaeology This link opens in a new window
Access to ebook titles from a variety of university presses covering a range of areas in archaeology.

Accessibility information

Vision of Britain Through Time

Created by the Great Britain Historical GIS Project, this resource shows how Britain and its localities have changed over the centuries by giving access to historical statistics, maps, census reports and travel writing.

Web of Science This link opens in a new window
Web of Science provides access to the Science Citation Expanded, Social Sciences Citation Index, and Arts & Humanities Citation Index.

For help with this resource, take a look at our Quick Guide.

For help using this resource for bibliometrics see Bibliometrics: a practical guide.

Accessibility information
Wiley Online Library - Journals This link opens in a new window
A large collection of several hundred full-text journals across a variety of subject areas in the life, physical, medical, technical and social sciences.

Accessibility information

This is a selection of free online archaeology resources covering a range of topics and resource types.

ARIADNEplus
Archaeology research community
Ashmolean ceramics
The Ashmolean's online ceramics collection.
CIfA (Chartered Institute for Archaeologists)
Information on standards, ethics and field archaeology.
City of York Historic Environment Characterisation Project
Part of English Heritage's characterisation programme, an excellent free tool for tracing changes to the historic environment in York through archaeological and historical evidence.
Granger Historical Picture Archive
Over 850,000 hi-res digitised historical images available for download
Historic England
Useful information on conservation, research and education.
Historic England - Aerial Archaeology Mapping Explorer
Historic England has made the results of over 30 years of aerial photograph mapping projects freely available online. Use it to explore heritage from ancient settlements to secret Cold War military installations, or to see the complex archaeological landscapes of Hadrian’s Wall, Stonehenge and so much in between.
Historic Environment Scotland
Government department of interest to archaeologists (formerly Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland).
Pelagios Network
A network of researchers, scientists and curators to explore historical place information.
Perseus Project
Online encyclopaedia with ancient Greek and Latin texts in original language and translation.
Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales
Government department of interest to archaeologists.
ScienceResearch.com
Allows cross-searching of numerous scientific journals and public science databases.
Searchable Greek Inscriptions
Searchable collection of ancient Greek inscriptions.
World Wide Science
World Wide Science is a global science gateway comprised of national and international scientific databases and portals.
York Archbishops' Registers
York's Archbishops Registers Revealed provides free access to over 20,000 images of Registers produced by the Archbishops of York, 1225-1650, in addition to a growing searchable index of names, subjects, places and organisations. The registers are a valuable, and in many cases, unexploited source for ecclesiastical, political, social, local and family history - covering periods of war, famine, political strife and religious reformation in the Archdiocese of York and the wider Northern Province.

York Digital Library

York Digital Library (YODL) provides access to over 69,000 resources, which include images, archive material and rare books. Some of the material is public, some of the collections can be accessed by members of the University only and some collections are restricted to students taking certain courses. Remember to login so that you can see the full range of resources available to you.

MA Theses

You can access MA theses which have been selected by the Archaeology department in our Digital Collections, which you can find linked to in the top pane in YorSearch.

If we don't have what you need...

Use our FREE Inter-library loan service to borrow books or obtain copies of journal articles from another library.

Visit the British Library Document Supply Centre at Boston Spa. A free minibus runs once a week from campus to Boston Spa.

If you are based near London during vacations, you can use the British Library's St Pancras Reading Room .

Use Library Hub Discover to search across UK libraries to see who holds the material you need. It might be possible to visit in person using the SCONUL Access scheme.

Contact the Archaeology librarian at lib-archaeology@york.ac.uk to see if we can buy it.

Archaeology

Find resources