National Monuments Service - Archaeological Survey of Ireland

Overview

This Archaeological Survey of Ireland dataset is published from the database of the National Monuments Service Sites and Monuments Record (SMR). This dataset also can be viewed and interrogated through the online Historic Environment Viewer. http://webgis.archaeology.ie/historicenvironment This data has been released for download as Open Data under the DPER Open Data Strategy and is licensed for re-use under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

Since its inception in 1963, the Archaeological Survey of Ireland (ASI) has focused on recording monuments dating from before AD 1700, along with more recent sites selected according to their interest or merit. A Sites and Monuments Record (SMR) was issued for all counties in the State between 1984 and 1992. The SMR is a manual containing a numbered list of all certain and possible monuments accompanied by 6-inch Ordnance Survey maps (at a reduced scale). An Urban Archaeology Survey was completed in 1995 and contained reports on historic towns dating to before AD 1700 with a view to delineating zones of archaeological potential. Both the SMR and the Urban Archaeological Survey reports were issued to all planning authorities. The SMR formed the basis for issuing the Record of Monuments and Places (RMP) - the statutory list of recorded monuments established under Section 12 of the National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1994. The RMP was issued for each county between 1995 and 1998 in a similar format to the existing SMR. However, the RMP differs from the earlier lists in that, as defined in the Act, only monuments with known locations or places where there are believed to be monuments are included. The large archive and supporting database are managed by the National Monuments Service and the records are continually updated and supplemented as additional monuments are discovered.

Please note that the centre point of each record is not indicative of the geographic extent of the monument. The existing point centroids were digitised relative to the OSI 6-inch mapping and the move from this older IG-referenced series to the larger-scale ITM mapping will necessitate revisions. The accuracy of the derived ITM co-ordinates is limited to the OS 6-inch scale and errors may ensue should the user apply the co-ordinates to larger scale maps. Records that do not refer to 'monuments' are designated 'Redundant record' and are retained in the archive as they may relate to features that were once considered to be monuments but which on investigation proved otherwise. Redundant records may also refer to duplicate records or errors in the data structure of the Archaeological Survey of Ireland.

This dataset is provided for re-use in a number of ways and the technical options are outlined below. For a live and current view of the data, please use the web services or the data extract tool in the Historic Environment Viewer. The National Monuments Service also provide an Open Data snapshot of its national dataset in CSV as a bulk data download. Users should consult the National Monument Service website https://www.archaeology.ie/ for further information and guidance on the National Monument Act(s) and the legal significance of this dataset.

Open Data Bulk Data Download (version date: 08/03/18)

The Sites and Monuments Record (SMR) is provided as a national download in Comma Separated Value (CSV) format. This format can be easily integrated into a number of software clients for re-use and analysis. The Longitude and Latitude coordinates are also provided to aid its re-use in web mapping systems, however, the ITM easting/northings coordinates should be quoted for official purposes. For a live and current view of the data, please use the web services or the data extract tool in the Historic Environment Viewer. Web Services

For users with access to GIS software please note that the Archaeological Survey of Ireland data is also available as a spatial data web service. By accessing and consuming the web service users are deemed to have accepted the Terms and Conditions. The web-service is available in the formats and at the URL endpoints advertised below:

OGC Web Map Service:

http://webservices.archaeology.ie/arcgis/services/NM/NationalMonuments/MapServer/WMSServer?request=GetCapabilities&service=WMS

ArcGIS REST Web service:

http://webservices.archaeology.ie/arcgis/rest/services/NM/NationalMonuments/MapServer

Historic Environment Viewer - Download Export Tool

The "Data Export Tool" can be used to selectively filter and download the data represented in the Historic Environment Viewer. The instructions for using this tool in the Historic Environment Viewer are detailed in the associated Help file: http://webgis.archaeology.ie/historicenvironment/help.html