Preliminary Report
A licensee must submit a preliminary report on the archaeological excavation to the National Monuments Service of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the National Museum of Ireland (NMI) not later than four weeks after the completion of the excavation.
In the case of a multi-season excavation a preliminary report must be submitted at the end of each season.
Concise Report
A licensee must submit a concise report for publication in the annual Excavations bulletin.
Final Report
A licensee must submit a final report on the archaeological excavations to both the National Monuments Service of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the National Museum of Ireland not later than twelve months after the completion of the excavation.
In cases of large-scale archaeological excavations, or in exceptional circumstances, the National Monuments Service may (on request from the licensee) agree to an extension of the time allowed for submission of the final report. However, in such cases, a progress report on the preparation of the final report (including specialist reports) must be submitted annually to both the National Monuments Service and the National Museum of Ireland.
The final report must contain a full account of the stratigraphy, features and finds and must include specialist reports and be suitable illustrated. It must interpret the site and place it in its archaeological and historical context.
Click Guidelines for Authors of Reports on Archaeological Excavations (61 KB) for details on preparing your final report.
Database of Irish Excavation Reports
The database of Irish excavation reports can be accessed at excavations.ie. The database contains summary accounts of all the excavations carried out in Ireland - both North and South - from 1970 to date.