In 2021 Historic England released the Aerial Archaeology Mapping Explorer which provides free online access to over 30 years’ worth of Aerial Investigation and Mapping projects carried out or funded by Historic England and its predecessor bodies. Following the successful launch, one of the key requests to us was to make the data available to download or link to Geographical Information Systems (GIS). With the support of the Historic England Archive, we have done just that.

All the digital Aerial Investigation and Mapping project data is now available via Historic England's Open Data Hub as a download, via various ArcGIS applications or via an Application Programming Interface (API). A User Guide describing how to access the data on the Open Data Hub and the Terms and Conditions of use are available on the same page. Historic England licenses the use of the Aerial Investigation and Mapping datasets for commercial and non-commercial use, pursuant to the terms of the Open Government Licence (Historic England Open Data Hub Terms and Conditions).

Aerial Investigation and Mapping projects continue to be undertaken by Historic England’ Aerial Survey team and external contractors funded by Historic England’s Heritage Protection Commissions Programme. The data on the Open Data Hub will be updated as new Aerial Investigation and Mapping Projects are completed. Our next priority will be to provide access to the older hand-drawn mapping projects.

The release of the data makes a significant contribution to our Corporate Plan outcome of ‘more people… using and engaging with our Archive services and collections’ and our Digital Strategy Engagement pillar, through making our data more discoverable. We hope that this helps you in your work. If you have any queries about the data or would like advice on proposing Aerial Investigation and Mapping in your area please contact [email protected].