Historic Environment Event Record: Archaeological Interventions in Cornwall and Scilly

Historic Environment Records from Cornwall and Scilly document archaeological and historic building interventions, termed 'Events'. These records, often linked to planning conditions or academic research, are used to update the regional Historic Buildings, Sites and Monuments Record (HBSMR) and are contributed to the national OASIS project and Archaeological Data Service. The data is provided by the Government Digital Service under an Open Government Licence.

Use Cases

• Mapping archaeological activity density based on recorded 'Event' locations and types mentioned in the description.
• Analyzing trends in historic building investigations based on the temporal data associated with 'Events'.
• Linking fieldwork reports to specific sites using the described Event report number prefixes (e.g., 1999R001, ER, CA).
• Researching the impact of developer-funded archaeology based on the description of 'grey literature' sources.

Strengths

• Records are integrated into a national indexing project (OASIS) and the Archaeological Data Service, suggesting a degree of standardization.
• The description specifies the data's role in updating the official regional heritage record (HBSMR), indicating its functional importance.
• Event records are prefixed with identifiable codes (year+HES, ER, CA), which may aid in organization and provenance tracking.

Limitations

• The description explicitly warns that accuracy and completeness are not guaranteed, and users must consult the HER for reliability assessments.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics and structure must be inferred after download.
• Row count and file formats are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale analysis.

Provenance

Source

Cornwall Council's Historic Environment Record (HER) team, contributed to national systems.

Collection Method

Recorded from archaeological interventions, investigations, and chance discoveries, often linked to planning conditions.

Time Range

null

Freshness

Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Geography

Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom.