The search tool allows users to find records held within the Historic Environment Record (HER).
Two search options are available:
- Simple search supports keyword searching across the HER database.
- Advanced search enables more detailed and structured searching.
Simple Search
The simple search is a free text option. This means if you type a word or phrase it will look for any of our records that it appears in. You can choose which type of record it searches by selecting one of three types of record.- Monuments
- Events
- Sources
You can enter place names, site names, building names or addresses, HER reference numbers (if known, either from our old HER Reference numbering system or from the new one), or general terms such as ‘farmstead’, ‘castle’, or ‘burial’.
The search will return any results that match with your terms. Whilst good for a quick browse, you may find it returns many more results than you desired. For more detailed searches you can use the advanced search tools.Advanced Search
The advanced search allows you to refine your search by applying specific filters. This is particularly useful where large numbers of records are returned or where detailed searching is required. Many of the advanced search fields, including site type, find/artefact type, and time period, use standardised terminology developed by the Forum on Information Standards in Heritage (FISH).Individual fields may be used in isolation or in combination with each other.
Site type allows searches to be limited to specific types of archaeological sites, such as ‘settlement’, ‘cairn’, or ‘church’.
Find / artefact type allows users to search for records associated with categories of artefacts or objects, such as ‘arrowhead’, ‘hair pin’, or ‘coin’. This includes items recorded as chance finds as well as objects linked to known archaeological sites and events.
Parish / Local Authority allows searches to be restricted to a particular parish or Local Authority area. Although parishes are no longer used for modern administrative purposes, they provide a static geographic reference for Historic Environment Records (HERs). This HER covers four Local Authority areas – Aberdeenshire, Moray, Aberdeen City, and Angus.
Time period allows searches to be limited to sites dating to a particular time period. Users may select a single time period, or a start period and an end period to define a date range.
Time period overlap determines how date ranges are applied. The selection of Overlaps returns records that fall partly or wholly within the selected date range. The selection of Entirely within returns only records that fall completely within the selected date range.
Sort results by controls the order in which search results are displayed. There is a drop-down list of Name (A-Z) and (Z-A), Period (earliest) and Period (latest) and Reference (A-Z) and Reference (Z-A) which refers to the database Monument record number beginning with the prefix ‘MAB’.
Using the Map with Search Results
When a search is carried out matching records can be displayed as a list or on a map by clicking either ‘List’ or ‘Map’ at the top of the search results.Map Help
Navigating the Map
The map allows users to view the geographic location of records held within the Historic Environment Record (HER). It can be used in isolation to explore the historic environment visually, or alongside the search tools to view the locations of selected records.Users can move around the map by clicking and dragging to pan and using their mouse’s control wheel or the on-screen controls to zoom in and out. To select a HER record from the map, hover over the desired polygon and left-click.
Map Tools
The map includes a set of tools displayed as tabs along the left side of the screen.Find a placename, postcode or grid reference allows users to move the map directly to a specific location. Map layers allows users to control whether to display Monument Records from the HER on the map, and Historic Environment Scotland (HES) records for Scheduled Monuments, Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas, Inventory Designed Landscapes, and Inventory Historic Battlefields.
Base layers allows users to change the background mapping beneath the HER records displayed in map layers. These include the basic Ordnance Survey map, the 1st Edition and 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey maps from the 19th century, and an aerial photograph overlay.
Info displays information about HER records selected on the map, each entry can be clicked to open the full HER record for a particular site. To clear the selection, click the ‘Clear Selection’ button.
Record list displays a list of all HER records from the selected map layers that fall within the current map viewing window. The list updates automatically as the map view is altered. Please note that some records may be mapped to approximate locations, and older records may have lower positional accuracy.