The Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust's Historic Environment Record (HER) aims to provide a comprehensive catalogue of known archaeological and historical sites, for Southeast Wales. The records are constantly up-dated and expanded as new information becomes available.
The information held within the HER is made available to all interested parties, such as personal or academic researchers, local history groups, students and school children. Now Archwilio enables information to be accessed by a much wider audience than ever before.
On visit to the Trust the HER can be interrogated through a geographical information system and is supported by a comprehensive database and collection of over 7,000 paper files containing more detailed information on particular sites including excavation and assessment reports, documents, plans, maps and photographs. A reference library of archaeological texts and journals is also available.
Education of the public in archaeology is the primary aim of the Trust for which the Historic Environment Record is a vital resource. The HER provides a central point of contact for individuals or groups researching the archaeology of their local area within Southeast Wales. We often take the digital record 'on the road' to public shows and events to raise awareness of archaeology and further inform the public about their heritage.
The Historic Environment Record also plays an integral role in heritage management, facilitating the management of individual sites as well as the landscape as a whole.
The record is also used to inform planning and development decisions; development control officers can provide advice based on the record to local planning authorities and contractors. This allows the impact upon the archaeological resource by a development to be adequately assessed. If archaeological work is undertaken as a result of development, the information gained from such works is fed back into the HER, thus enhancing the record for future use.
Visit GGAT's main website at www.ggat.org.uk
Search the records of the other Welsh Archaeological Trusts www.archwilio.org.uk