Introduction
The Heritage Council invites tenders from suitable consultants to carry out a study of unpublished excavation reports in Ireland. Progress of the study will be overseen by the Standing Committee on Archaeology.
The Brief
The brief will be to examine the archives of the National Monuments Service, National Museum of Ireland and the Universities, and produce a database for the Heritage Council, National Monuments Service and National Museum, and author a report for the Heritage Council detailing the following:
1. The number and type of excavations carried out in the Republic of Ireland to December 1997, broken down by period and type. How many of these sites have completed reports?
2. The number of these excavation reports which remain unpublished.
3. The unpublished excavation reports will be assessed in terms of their:
a) relative significance by period and type;
b) completeness. How full are the reports? Quantify pages of text, numbers of drawings, extent and type of finds catalogues, number and type of specialist reports. A random sample of reports should be examined from the qualitative point of view, how well do they address the aims of the excavation.
c) Recommendations for the type of appropriate publication: e.g. monograph, journal, photocopy in copyright library, note in excavations bulletin, etc. will be made.
d) A brief comment on the excavation archive should be made: its contents, location and accessibility.
e) The whereabouts of the finds and samples should be established.
4. Recommendations for the management of the backlog of unpublished excavations should be made.
The Terms
The study will be completed within one year of date of contract. Tenders should detail previous experience and provide an outline proposal and costing for the conduct of the study. Consultants interested in applying should submit examples of similar projects carried out in the past. The Heritage Council reserves the right to seek third party evaluation of any tender. The report should be submitted to the Council in publishable form, 12 text copies and a disc copy in MS Word 6 or Quark Express. Copyright will rest exclusively with the Council and the Council reserves the right to publish the report.
Schedule
Closing date for tenders will be 23 March 1998. Applicants will be invited to interview on 12 May 1997. The project will be awarded on 10 June 1998 and should commence by 6 July. The pilot assessment will be due on 10 August 1998 and will involve the completion of stages 1 and 2. The draft report will be due by 5 July 1999. This should be returned to the author by 9 August 1999 and a final draft will be presented to the Council by 6 September 1999. Council reserves the right to alter this schedule at its discretion.
Note: any envelope containing a tender document should be clearly marked Archaeology Excavations Tender.