Paper short abstract:

The department of Portable Antiquities and Treasure at the British Museum publishes archaeological data found by the general public online. This paper will demonstrate what data is available and what innovative methods have been employed and also what other digital initiatives the British Museum is involved in.

Paper long abstract:

Since 2003, the author of this paper has been responsible for the provision of the Department of Portable Antiquities and Treasure's digital technology. The PAS now has the largest digital archive of archaeological small finds data available publicly. The new website re-launched in early 2010, has employed a wide array of innovative digital techniques to aid the dissemination of these data. This paper will outline what has been implemented and how this archive can benefit researchers in a wide variety of archaeological research areas; from archaeological geomatics to artefact typologies and numismatic studies.

It will also demonstrate that building these resources can be achieved on a very limited budget and can to what extent this type of archaeological dissemination can penetrate into the public psyche via data sharing methods and manipulation of search and media organisations.

The paper will also discuss digital advances that the British Museum has been involved with since the re-launch of their site in 2007 and will touch upon the highly successful "A history of the world" collaboration with the BBC.