Administrative and study materials

This series contains administrative materials, such as minutes from meetings and records of permits. There are also a large number of lists, inventories and indexes, which are grouped as a sub-series. These include lists pertaining to archive material, such as photo lists and plans lists, as well as original storage lists for finds and lists of materials used during excavations.

Study materials in this series are composite files of analysis material, mostly copied from the archive or secondary working notes compiling information from different sources, which have been pulled together by researchers studying specific areas or themes. This material includes trench files and pottery sorting files. The working notes of specific archaeologists and scholars are also included, such as work by Elizabeth French and Barbara Craig.

The majority of files arranged under the sub-series’ of ‘Indexes, Lists and Inventories and ‘Study and Working Materials’ were created by researchers in the years following the excavations, particularly during the seventies and eighties. They aim to list and collate all of the available excavation and find information relating to certain areas of the site or by theme, such as information on ivory finds. These working files have continued to be added to by researchers and have been actively used, and sometimes rearranged, by authors in the process of publication; particularly the Well Built Mycenae publications.

Materials in these files include:

• Unit sheets: these sheets record information for each unit. This includes the trench area, date of excavation, unit number, features of the area, materials found, samples taken, context and section numbers.
• Trench check lists: found in some of the trench files, these provide an index to Mycenae Archive materials that have been produced, both secondary and primary records, in the excavation and study of a trench. They also include information on where the finds were originally stored and who was in charge of the excavation.
• Pottery sorting notes provide unit information and often include photographs of finds attached to the relevant unit page.
• Sections, photographs reprinted from original negatives, notes and reports.

The lists, inventories and indexes arrived at the repository largely grouped together. This has been retained as a sub-series.

Files of study materials were largely grouped together on arrival at the repository. However, some had been pulled out of their original order and sent to researchers for use in publication preparation, especially Well Built Mycenae. Once returned by researchers, these files have not always been reincorporated into the main archive, rather they arrived at the repository grouped with other materials used in a fascicule. Where possible, these files have been reincorporated into this series for usability of the archive. However, Information on the publication a file was last used for has been recorded in the catalogue.

Dr Elizabeth French

A detailed spreadsheet catalogue is available as well as a card index.

Appraisal for this material is beyond the scope of the 2016 arrangement and cataloguing project. All records have been kept.