We believe in communicating the results of our archaeological fieldwork to as wide an audience as possible, as exemplified by our Dunragit publications. Archaeological excavation is not an end in itself, but merely the recovery of material evidence of past activity that then requires analysis and publication. When we discover new information about the past, we consider it extremely important to publish and share this so that people can better understand the past. This is demonstrated by the publications record of our staff, which illustrates the contribution we have made to understanding prehistoric, medieval, post-medieval, industrial and battlefield archaeology.
Not content merely to contribute articles, papers and monographs to archaeological magazines, journals and publishers, we have now established an online publication, Archaeology Reports Online (ARO).
The aim of ARO is to provide an efficient, cost-effective opportunity for all archaeologists to publish the peer-reviewed results of their fieldwork research, particularly archaeological fieldwork and specialist research undertaken in those areas where there is not a regional archaeology journal, or of types of sites which struggle to find a publication outlet, but where the results are significant enough to merit publication.
From the journal's website, www.archaeologyreportsonline.com, ARO reports are freely available for anyone to download. Furthermore, we publicise the findings of each ARO report in a range of news media, archaeology magazines, websites, blogs, twitter; that many of the ARO reports have then been picked up by TV, radio and newspapers demonstrates that these are stories of interest to the public as well as to archaeologists.
ARO offers archaeologists a great opportunity to share the results of their work, so that as many different communities as possible can access new information and better understand the past.
So if you have any archaeological fieldwork reports, languishing in search of a suitable journal, or if you are uncertain if your findings are worth publishing, contact ARO's editor - editor@archaeologyreportsonline.com.