There may also be personal value attached to retaining the papers of a friend or family member. This value could be measured in terms of its contributions to historical research, but also in terms of social, cultural or national significance. Preserving the pastĭeciding whether an item is worthy of archival preservation is, fundamentally, a question of whether it can be said to be of continuing value. We derive the modern English word ‘archives’ ultimately from the ancient Greek ta arkheia, meaning ‘public records’. The tradition of keeping economic, religious, legal and literary texts continued in ancient Greece and Rome, with the most important legislative documents held in purpose-built record offices such as the Roman Tabularium, situated in the Forum and first constructed in 78 BCE. 2500 BCE to 2250 BCE, the tablets were discovered among the collapsed shelves upon which it is believed they were originally stored prior to the destruction of Ebla around 2250 BCE. The tablets found in the ancient kingdom of Ebla, approximately 55km south-west of Aleppo in Syria, are even older. Ancient archivesĪmong the earliest evidence of archives are the collections of clay tablets found at sites such as Mari, Syria, or in Hattusa, Anatolia, which date from c. As the Scottish writer Sara Sheridan suggests, documents within an archive are ‘like signposted roads, heading to a variety of intriguing possibilities’. An archive can be a source of inspiration and identity for its users, who bring their own experiences and understanding to bear upon its collections. It is to feel the pleasure of personal connection, the joy of stumbling across the unexpected, the poignancy of encountering moments of raw human emotion. To delve into an archive is to pick at the seams of a rich historical tapestry that weaves together hints and allusions, coincidences and parallels.
the place in which such documents are stored.Įxperience the thrill of studying material from an archival collection for the first time and it is immediately clear that an archive amounts to far more than the definitions above suggest.
a collection of historical documents concerning the activities of an individual, group of individuals, organisation, association, or nation. 2.
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