Collections Management

Tees Archaeology aims to provide a continuous programme of collections and archive management and to increase the accessibility of the archaeological resources held by the service.

The large number of excavations that have taken place over the years have led to the accumulation of a vast body of archaeological material. This mainly consists of the actual artefacts found during excavations. Everything from the smallest sherd of pot to the heaviest millstone has to be kept for future reference. Archaeologists also make detailed records of their excavations. This leads to a large body of paperwork, maps, plans and photographs building up. Where it is not possible to place archaeological material on display it must be ordered, kept safe and stored in such as way as to prevent its physical decay so that it is available to future researchers.

Some items are then deposited in a local museum such as the Dorman Museum in Middlesbrough or the Museum of Hartlepool. Tees Archaeology also collects material for educational use and is responsible for the long-term curation of material from Stockton-on-Tees on behalf of their Museum Service.

Our finds store and processing area is housed in an interesting building known as 'the bunker'. This is a former World War II command bunker sited in the grounds of Sir William Gray House, Hartlepool. Whilst providing a suitable storage area for archaeological material, this use also fulfils a practical conservation objective in keeping the shelter in active use and preventing it becoming abandoned and falling in to disrepair. The shelter has full environmental controls and has a roller racking system of moveable shelving. Paper and photographic archives are stored in a dedicated room in the main office suite at Sir William Gray House. The Service has a Collections Management Policy and a Disaster Plan.

Key items in our permanent collection include the finds from the Norton Pagan Anglo-Saxon cemetery and the material from Thorpe Thewles Iron Age Settlement . We also hold a quantity of material acquired from excavations across Teesside from the 1970s onwards.

If you are researching a particular site please make us your first point of call. If we don't hold the item you are looking for then we can almost certainly point you in the right direction.

Items that are in our archives is accessible to researchers by appointment during office hours on weekdays only. Please contact us if you would like to make an appointment to view any of the collections or discuss their use for teaching or exhibition purposes.

Collections in the

Tees Archaeology document archive