Search Help

Here is a guide on how to use the online search form for exploring the sites held in Aberdeenshire's Sites & Monuments Record.

You must fill in at least one of the boxes on the form before clicking on the "Search" button. Only fill in the boxes that you are certain of, you do not need to fill in all the boxes for a successful search.

If the search produces a large number of results then try narrowing your search by choosing more particular details, for instance just Bronze Age sites (from the period menu) in a particular parish as opposed to searching for all the sites in that parish. If your search is unsuccessful then try other spellings for names or different combinations of information in the boxes.

The search form is broken down into its relevant sections below with a brief explanation of how each part works:

Site Name:

Enter a name of a place that you are interested in, note that the names are not case-sensitive. If you are unsure of a precise address or location then try a general place name such as "Huntly". If you type in a general name then the search results will show not only the exact matches to that name but also other matches that are similar.

SMR Reference:

This refers to a unique reference number given by the Service to each site and is written for example "NJ83SW0046". It is based on the Ordnance Survey 1:10,000 scale map sheets (see an explanation of these map sheets below) and will always be broken down in the following way - "NJ83SW" indicates the quadrant on the 10km x 10km map sheet on which the site is located while the "0046" part of the reference is the individual site number for that site in that quadrant.

1:10,000 Map Sheet:

The UK is covered in 100km x 100km grid squares as devised by the Ordnance Survey. Two letters identify each grid square. Each of these grid squares is further divided into smaller squares by grid lines representing 10km spacing, with each line being numbered from 0 to 9 from the South West corner in an Easterly (left to right) and Northerly (bottom to top) direction. These 10km x 10km grid squares make up the 1:10,000 scale mapping system and can be divided further into quadrants named NW, NE, SE and SW. The SMR's reference number system is based on these Ordnance Survey map sheets. Therefore you can search for sites that either occur in a 10km x 10km grid square, for example "NJ83" or more specifically in one of the quadrants of that grid square, for example "NJ83NE".

Parish:

Select a parish from the drop down menu located on the right hand side of the box. Click on the arrow to display the list of options available, you may need to use the scroll bar to see the full list.

Period:

Select a type of site from the drop down menu located on the right hand side of the box. Click on the arrow to display the list of options available, you may need to use the scroll bar to see the full list.

Type of Site:

Enter a type of site into the search field. You can search for sites just by completing this box alone though it may produce a lot of results. Use the next two boxes to narrow your search. Results are returned that contain the data entered into this search field.

Shape, Use, Etc:

Enter a description to produce more specific results of a particular site type search. Results are returned that contain the data entered into this search field.

Further Details: