Largest archaeological archive

The largest archaeological archive belongs to the London Museum’s Archaeological Archive and Research Centre (UK) and consists of information and artifacts from over 14,063 excavations as of 29 Jan 2026. The records detail excavations in London dating back to the 1830s.

An archaeological archive is the complete record of an archaeological excavation and the evidence recovered from the investigation. The London Museum’s Archaeological Archive and Research Centre (LAARC) includes archaeological sites dating from prehistoric era to the Roman empire, medieval Europe and modern colonial London. Opened in 2002, and based at Mortimer Wheeler House in Hackney, the LAARC holds information and selected artefacts from over 14,000 sites that have been excavated in Greater London in past 200 years. Finds from Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre, the Roman amphitheatre, and Nonsuch Palace are just some of the items cared for by the LAARC and its numerous volunteers.

In addition, the LAARC stores the full archives for many of these sites as the records and finds from nearly all archaeological work in London come here. The LAARC is the primary source of evidence for early London and a resource of international significance. Because of the richness of the material and the historical importance of London, it continues to make an essential contribution to studies of the Roman Empire, of prehistoric and medieval Europe, and of early modern colonialism.