Worcester Archaeology

Exploring Worcestershire's past
We are experts in archives and archaeology
What we do
We care for Worcestershire’s past for the benefit of present and future generations, continuously increasing and enhancing our resources.
We are always looking for new ways to develop to increase access to our collections and work to involve people in archives and archaeology through community engagement.

Meet the team
Our specialist archive and archaeology team have significant combined knowledge and experience. We have experts in all aspects of professional archive and archaeology services, as well as community engagement, communications and partnership working.
Our strength is in our flexible multi-disciplinary approach to all projects which means we can offer something very special to our customers.

Support us
We maintain our service by bringing in over 75% of funding from commercial projects and competitive grants. You can help support us by volunteering, joining and donating to our Friends organisation, using our paid services, adopting a document or leaving a bequest in your will.

Jobs & volunteering
Looking to volunteer? Our volunteers work on a wide range of structured projects, enabling us to enhance and improve our resources for everyone. It’s also good fun!
Looking to join our team? Our staff turnover is low, but when we do recruit we look for skilled, enthusiastic team workers.

Corporate social responsibility
We aim to behave ethically and sensitively toward social, cultural, economic and environmental issues. We support communities by helping them make a positive impact on their historic environment and understand Worcestershire’s past, present and future.

Our Collections
Dating from the Ice Ages to the 21st century, our collections tell the story of the communities, individuals, buildings and landscapes of historic Worcestershire. They include over 12 miles of archives, more than 60,000 records of archaeology, and at least 20,000 local studies, archives and archaeology reference books.
Our collections include the ordinary and the extra-ordinary. They tell us about the everyday lives of people and their communities as well as about dreadful and wonderful events, special buildings and famous people. For example, the documents we hold about William Shakespeare have, with collections in other institutions, recently been added to the UNESCO International Memory of the World. They help to document the everyday life of an extraordinary person.

Explore the past through our archive collections
Our collections reveal fascinating information about people and places in Worcestershire, from the eleventh century to present day. Whether you’re on site at The Hive or trying to find information from home, there are a number of ways to search through our archival resources and collections. The majority of our catalogues are only available in hard copy at The Hive, but the information available online is growing and will continue to do so.

Dig into our archaeological resources
Whether you’re a developer who’s building for our future or you’re interested in the history of the Worcestershire landscapes that our ancestors inhabited, our specialist staff can provide you with the information you’re after.
We have everything you might need in our Geographic Information System (GIS), which contains over 80,000 records of archaeological sites and historic buildings, details of archaeological excavations, surveys and chance finds, alongside historic mapping, aerial photographs, LiDAR, and other sources.
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