The York Collection
The York Collection is a rare and precious resource, representing 2,000 years of human activity in York.
For more than five decades we have recovered archaeological evidence through excavation, revealing the lives of people in York’s past. The collection includes:
- Building materials
- Animal bones, from horses to small frogs
- Large quantities of pottery fragments
- Environmental samples
- Tools and production debris
- Food remains
- Personal items
- Even personal parasites
This rich resource supports research, creativity, exhibitions, learning, and public enjoyment.
Unique Preservation Conditions
Many archaeological finds have survived due to York’s unusual soil conditions. Plant remains, wood, leather, and textiles that would normally decay have been preserved. Our Conservation Team cares for these and their excavation records to ensure they are preserved and accessible for research and public enjoyment.
Research
Studies of the collection provide glimpses into everyday life in the past, including:
- How people looked, dressed, and ate
- How they lived and died
- Where they came from
- How they earned a living and spent their leisure time
The finds highlight York’s historical importance as a religious, military, administrative, manufacturing, and trading centre.
We share discoveries worldwide through publications, attractions, learning programmes, exhibitions and events. Over 15,000 artefacts and other finds are documented in our acclaimed 20-volume Archaeology of York series, which details excavations and artefactual, skeletal, and environmental evidence from key York sites.
Our on-going Research Aims for the York Collection
We collaborate with partners to apply next-generation research and scientific techniques. Our goal is to learn more about how people lived, how towns like York were formed, and how rural settlements were organised. Many themes also resonate today, including the use of natural resources, human impact on the environment, climate change, population movement, identity, personhood, and the study of immunology and disease transmission.
Partnerships with Universities
We collaborate with academic partners to enhance knowledge of the collection and stay current with scientific developments. Over the past 30 years, 350 researchers from the UK and abroad have accessed the collection. Research topics include:
- Animal husbandry (bees, pigs, poultry)
- Genetics of rats, cats, and dogs
- Cooking techniques and influences
- Wheat cultivation and marine exploitation
- Pests and parasites
- Trading connections, including along the Silk Route
- Health and disease
- Modern concerns such as microplastic contamination in archaeological soils
Case Studies
The melting pot of Eboracum: Exploring diversity and identity through skeletal and burial evidence in Roman York
Our current partnership with the Department of Archaeology, University of York is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council through a White Rose College of the Arts & Humanities studentship. It explores mobility, identity, health and diet in Roman York through burial evidence.
York-Dublin Axis
York Archaeology partners with scholars and heritage professionals in the UK and Ireland to study the greatest “Viking towns”, York and Dublin. It explores the changing relationship between the two cities from the Viking age to the present. Partners include Dublin City, National University of Ireland, City of York Council, York Museums Trust, University of York, University of Glasgow, and the AHRC.
Access to the York Collection
Research is central to our mission. External academic partners help us enhance knowledge of the collection and keep up with new scientific developments.
Access to artefacts, both on display and in storage, is by application. Researchers must provide the purpose, timeframe, sponsoring institution, and a brief research plan. We balance research needs with object vulnerability and existing work schedules.
Researchers are asked to provide a copy of final results, report or thesis to add to our site archive. To learn more about enquires into the collection click here.
Access to the Archive and image resource
Our archives contain excavation records such as research reports and site documentation. They also include publications, concept artwork, draft materials, and an extensive photographic archive. Archive material can be accessed through our Collections and Archives Team at [email protected].
To learn more about access to the collection for research purposes click here.