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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11If an archaeology company closes, do not take project files home, upload them publicly, or choose a new archive on your own. Keep the records secure, identify the person or institution with legal authority, create a cross-referenced inventory, and obtain written transfer instructions. The correct recipient may be a client, landowner, permit authority, public agency, Tribal or descendant-community authority, designated repository, or an insolvency custodian. Ownership and transfer rules depend on the project contract, permit, funding, jurisdiction, and any community agreements.
A shutdown changes custody, not ownership
Employment gives you access to records; it normally does not give you ownership of the excavation documentation. A closing employer may have held records for a client, landowner, government agency, permit holder, repository, or community under contract. The company’s closure therefore does not authorize an employee to remove originals, make unrestricted copies, publish results, or discard material.
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Start by preserving the records while you determine who has authority. The responsible party could be the project’s principal investigator, the contracting client, a landowner, the agency that issued a permit, a designated state or Tribal office, an existing repository, or a liquidator or records custodian appointed under insolvency law. If more than one party is involved, ask them to identify a single authorized contact and confirm instructions in writing.
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Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Professional standards reinforce continuity but do not settle ownership in every situation. The Register of Professional Archaeologists (RPA) Code and Standards, revised February 25, 2025, requires compliance with applicable federal, state, local, Tribal, Indigenous, and international law and calls for records, collections, inventories, and site-record filings to remain properly correlated. Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA) guidance and the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) standards likewise emphasize accurate documentation, long-term curation, and dissemination. Those principles tell you how to act responsibly; the project’s law and agreements determine who may authorize a transfer.
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Step 1: Stabilize custody immediately
Before contacting potential recipients, prevent avoidable loss or unauthorized access. Stabilization is a temporary preservation measure, not a decision about who owns the material.
- Secure paper files. Keep notebooks, context sheets, maps, photographs, correspondence, and reports in a dry, access-controlled location. Do not sort pages into a new order if the original arrangement conveys provenience or workflow.
- Secure digital files. Preserve the employer’s original directory structure, file names, timestamps, database relationships, and read-only exports where possible. Do not overwrite a database while attempting to repair it.
- Protect physical collections. Keep artifacts, samples, labels, bags, boxes, and associated documentation together. Do not separate a box of material from its catalog or provenience information.
- Limit access. Follow confidentiality clauses, permit conditions, agency security rules, and community restrictions. Do not post site coordinates, photographs of sensitive places, burial information, or restricted cultural knowledge on social media or a personal cloud drive.
- Record the condition. Note water damage, mold, missing media, unreadable disks, broken labels, or suspected unauthorized access. Photograph the storage condition only when doing so does not expose sensitive information.
If the premises are being cleared, ask the landlord, liquidator, or authorized custodian in writing for a short preservation hold. State that the materials are archaeological project records and should not be destroyed or sold until the responsible owner or agency gives instructions.
Step 2: Identify the authority for the project
Look for documents that establish ownership, curation, reporting, and access obligations. Search the employer’s contract files, project-management system, permit folder, correspondence, repository agreement, and final invoices. A verbal assurance from a former manager is useful context but is not a substitute for written authorization from the responsible party.
| Project circumstance | Who to contact first | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Federal land or a federally owned collection | The responsible Federal Agency Official; include the owner where the collection is federally administered | Ownership, repository agreement, catalog status, and written permission required for transfer, repatriation, or disposal |
| State or local permit project | The issuing agency or its designated state/local repository | Permit conditions, site-record clearinghouse, required formats, and reporting deadline |
| Tribal, Indigenous, or descendant-community project | The authority named in the agreement or the community’s designated representative | Custody, access, cultural restrictions, consultation protocol, and preferred repository |
| Private development project | The client or landowner, plus the permit authority and any named repository | Contract ownership, legal retention duties, site-record filing, and curation commitments |
| Employer in liquidation or insolvency | The court-appointed trustee, liquidator, or records custodian, while notifying the project owner or agency | Who may release project records and how a transfer can be documented without violating insolvency rules |
Send a concise notice describing the project, the types of records at risk, their current location, and any immediate threat. Ask who is authorized to direct custody and request a written response. Copy relevant parties only when doing so does not disclose restricted information.
Step 3: Build a transfer inventory before moving anything
An inventory lets the receiving party verify completeness and preserves the links that make field notes useful. Use the project’s established site, accession, feature, context, or catalog identifiers rather than inventing a new numbering scheme.
| Inventory field | Examples of what to record |
|---|---|
| Project identity | Project name, site number, accession number, permit number, client, principal investigator, and responsible agency |
| Coverage | Fieldwork and reporting dates, excavation areas, survey segments, and date ranges represented |
| Record type | Field notebooks, context sheets, drawings, maps, photographs, audio/video, oral histories, databases, spreadsheets, laboratory records, reports, contracts, permits, and correspondence |
| Format and location | Paper boxes, binders, hard drives, optical media, server paths, database platforms, file formats, and physical shelf or room |
| Collection links | Artifact bags, samples, catalog ranges, photographs, plans, and reports linked to each site or accession identifier |
| Status | Complete, draft, under analysis, duplicated, unreadable, missing, damaged, or awaiting conservation |
| Restrictions | Confidentiality, endangered-site information, human remains, Tribal or descendant-community limits, personal data, and access embargoes |
| Known gaps | Missing notebooks, uncataloged boxes, absent image files, broken database links, or records held by another subcontractor |
Cross-reference every container and digital folder to the inventory. For example, “Site 31XX123, Context 204, boxes 4–6, photographs 204-001 through 204-086, database table Contexts” is more useful than “three boxes of notes.” Keep a versioned copy of the inventory so later changes are visible.
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What belongs in an archaeological record set?
Field notes are only one component. The National Park Service summary of 36 CFR Part 79 describes associated records broadly for federally owned and administered collections. Its examples provide a strong checklist for federal work and a useful prompt for other projects, although you must still confirm what your specific contract and jurisdiction require.
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- Still photographs, negatives, films, audio, video, and oral-history recordings
- Artifact inventories, catalog databases, specimen and sample logs, and laboratory reports
- Manuscripts, technical reports, draft reports, analyses, data-cleaning notes, and publication files
- Accession, catalog, inventory, condition, treatment, inspection, and loss records
- Scopes of work, proposals, contracts, permits, compliance files, correspondence, and other administrative records that explain how the work was authorized
SHA’s curation guidance similarly treats field and laboratory documentation, photographs, historical documents, reports, notes, and catalogs as integral parts of a collection. A repository may not need every business record, but you should let the authorized recipient decide what is retained rather than discarding material yourself.
Federal collections: the specific controls in 36 CFR Part 79
For a federally owned or federally administered archaeological collection, 36 CFR Part 79 is the controlling federal framework to check with the responsible agency. The National Park Service’s explanation states that associated records are part of the collection and that a repository agreement must identify how transfers, repatriation requests, and later disposition are handled.
- For a federally owned collection, the repository must redirect transfer or repatriation requests to the responsible Federal Agency Official.
- For a federally administered collection, the responsible Federal Agency Official and the owner must be involved.
- A repository may not transfer, repatriate, or discard the collection without the required written permission.
- Administrative records should identify the repository, governing agreements, catalog contents, and any later permanent transfer.
These requirements mean that an employee cannot authorize a federal repository to accept, return, or dispose of material merely because the employer closed. Give the agency official the inventory and ask for written direction. Do not generalize Part 79 to a private, state, Tribal, or non-U.S. collection without checking the applicable law and agreement.
Step 4: Ask the repository before packing or converting files
A repository’s acceptance is not automatic. Contact the designated repository, provide a summary inventory, and ask for its current intake instructions before shipping boxes or exporting a database.
- Confirm that the repository is authorized and willing to accept this project’s artifacts, samples, paper records, digital records, or only some of those categories.
- Request specifications for box size, labels, packing materials, environmental requirements, file formats, naming conventions, metadata, checksums, and virus scanning.
- Ask how the repository handles restricted site information, human remains, culturally sensitive material, personal data, and access requests.
- Confirm which originals it requires, whether a preservation master and access copy are expected, and who pays for transport, conservation, or accessioning.
- Obtain the repository’s transfer form, deed or agreement language, and shipping or delivery instructions before dispatch.
Do not destroy originals, flatten notebooks, relabel artifacts, or convert files in a way that removes context. A spreadsheet export can lose database relationships; a scanned notebook can omit marginalia; and a compressed image can discard evidence. Preserve the source files and document any conversion. SHA recommends acid-free paper for paper documentation and planning for curation with the receiving facility, but those are curation recommendations—not permission for an employee to buy supplies, make duplicate sets, or alter records without authorization. If the repository requests archival folders or two copies, follow its exact specifications.
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Digital records need their own handoff plan
Digital material often fails silently when a company closes. Include the following in the written transfer plan:
- A complete file listing with paths, sizes, creation or modification dates, and the software or database version used
- Read-only preservation copies plus clearly labeled working or access copies, if the authority permits both
- Database exports accompanied by schema documentation, lookup tables, coordinate systems, controlled vocabularies, and relationship diagrams
- Photograph metadata, original image files, derivatives, geospatial layers, and the projection or datum used for maps
- Passwords, encryption keys, or recovery information transferred through a secure channel to the authorized custodian—not pasted into an ordinary email
- Integrity information such as checksums when requested by the repository, along with the tool and date used to generate them
Do not upload sensitive data to a personal storage account merely to “keep a backup.” If temporary working access is essential, obtain written permission, use the organization’s approved secure service, and delete the temporary copy when the custodian confirms receipt.
Step 5: Document the handoff
A transfer is complete only when the authorized recipient acknowledges what it received and under what conditions. Use a signed delivery receipt, repository accession record, or other written instrument that can be retained with the project file.
- List sender and recipient names, roles, organizations, and authority for the transfer.
- Identify every project, site, accession, permit, and container or digital package covered.
- Attach the final inventory and note known gaps, damage, unreadable media, and records that remain elsewhere.
- State the transfer date, method of delivery, number of boxes or digital packages, and any checksum or tracking information.
- Write down restrictions, embargoes, confidentiality terms, cultural protocols, and conditions on copying or access.
- Obtain the recipient’s signature or written acknowledgment and confirmation of the new custodian.
- Store the receipt with the authorized project records and send a copy to the owner or agency when permitted.
If the recipient rejects part of the collection, record the rejection and ask who will hold that portion. Never treat an unaccepted box or hard drive as abandoned property.
Unfinished reporting remains a professional responsibility
Make a separate status list for draft reports, unfinished analyses, data cleaning, specialist studies, and unresolved questions. Name the last person who worked on each task, identify the source files, and describe the next action without changing the underlying data.
SHA ethics guidance warns that a change in employment does not erase the professional obligation to ensure excavation results are written and reported. Its Ethics Committee states: “There is nothing more tragic in archaeology than an unreported site excavation.” It also advises: “Take detailed notes and records for the benefit of future researchers.” Those principles support a documented handover to the responsible authority; they do not give an individual the right to publish, transfer, or retain project material personally.
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Tell the authorized owner or agency which deadlines may be at risk. If you are asked to continue work as an independent consultant, obtain a new written agreement covering access, ownership, payment, authorship, data security, and delivery. Do not assume your former employment contract answers those questions after closure.
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How to choose among several plausible destinations
Sometimes a client, state office, repository, and Tribal authority all appear to be possible recipients. Compare them against the project documents rather than choosing the most convenient address.
| Decision factor | Questions to ask |
|---|---|
| Legal authority and ownership | Who owns the collection, and who can authorize transfer, access, repatriation, or disposal? |
| Permit and contract alignment | Does the destination match the permit, scope of work, curation clause, and repository agreement? |
| Site-record filing | Is it the required site-record clearinghouse or able to confirm filing with that clearinghouse? |
| Format capacity | Can it accession the physical, digital, geospatial, audio/visual, and database formats involved? |
| Preservation and security | Does it provide environmental protection, fire and theft controls, backups, conservation, and documented access? |
| Confidentiality and cultural control | Can it enforce site, personal, human-remains, Tribal, and descendant-community restrictions? |
| Provenience continuity | Will labels, catalog numbers, maps, photographs, samples, and reports remain linked? |
| Durable evidence of custody | Will it issue an accession number, receipt, inventory acknowledgment, and future contact point? |
The North Carolina Office of State Archaeology is an example of a state office with responsibility for preserving and curating associated documentation within its remit. It is not a universal destination. The appropriate state or Tribal office, repository, client, or owner must be identified project by project.
Common mistakes and how to correct them
Taking records home “temporarily”
Why it fails: It can breach confidentiality, chain of custody, employment terms, or cultural restrictions, and it makes later completeness hard to prove.
Correction: Ask the authorized custodian for a written temporary-custody arrangement listing exactly what you hold, where it is stored, who may access it, and when it will be returned.
Sending everything to the nearest museum
Why it fails: Proximity does not establish ownership or satisfy a permit, clearinghouse, or repository agreement.
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Correction: Verify authority, acceptance, restrictions, capacity, and accession procedures before delivery.
Keeping only the “important” field notebooks
Why it fails: Missing maps, photographs, catalog data, lab sheets, and administrative records can break provenience and make a report unverifiable.
Correction: Inventory the complete record set and let the authorized repository decide what can be sampled, deaccessioned, or retained elsewhere.
Converting files before consulting the repository
Why it fails: Conversion can remove metadata, database relationships, formulas, layers, or image detail.
Correction: Preserve originals, document software and versions, and convert only to specifications approved in writing.
Publishing results to prevent them from being lost
Why it fails: Publication may disclose protected locations, violate contracts, compromise community control, or create an unauthorized copy.
Correction: Notify the owner or agency about reporting risk and seek written authorization for any publication, data release, or public summary.
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A practical shutdown checklist
- Secure paper, digital, artifact, and sample records against loss and unauthorized access.
- Locate contracts, permits, repository agreements, ownership clauses, and agency correspondence.
- Notify the project owner, agency, permit authority, repository, and authorized insolvency custodian as appropriate.
- Request one written decision identifying the person or institution authorized to direct custody.
- Build an inventory using existing site, accession, feature, context, and catalog identifiers.
- Record formats, locations, date ranges, restrictions, known gaps, damage, and unfinished work.
- Ask the receiving repository for intake, packing, labeling, metadata, security, and transfer-form requirements.
- Preserve originals and database context; make copies or conversions only with permission.
- Deliver through the approved method and obtain a signed or acknowledged receipt.
- Keep the receipt, final inventory, restrictions, and unresolved issues with the authorized project records.
The goal is continuity: a future researcher, agency, community, or repository should be able to connect every note to its site, context, artifact, image, map, analysis, and report while knowing who controls access. A careful inventory and written chain of custody protect both the archaeological record and the people responsible for it.
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