National Monuments Service - Archaeological Survey of Ireland

This Archaeological Survey of Ireland dataset is published from the database of the National Monuments Service Sites and Monuments Record (SMR). This dataset also can be viewed and interrogated through the online Historic Environment Viewer: https://heritagedata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=0c9eb9575b544081b0d296436d8f60f8 

A Sites and Monuments Record (SMR) was issued for all counties in the State between 1984 and 1992. The SMR is a manual containing a numbered list of certain and possible monuments accompanied by 6-inch Ordnance Survey maps (at a reduced scale). The SMR formed the basis for issuing the Record of Monuments and Places (RMP) - the statutory list of recorded monuments established under Section 12 of the National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1994. The RMP was issued for each county between 1995 and 1998 in a similar format to the existing SMR. The RMP differs from the earlier lists in that, as defined in the Act, only monuments with known locations or places where there are believed to be monuments are included. 

The large Archaeological Survey of Ireland archive and supporting database are managed by the National Monuments Service and the records are continually updated and supplemented as additional monuments are discovered. On the Historic Environment viewer an area around each monument has been shaded, the scale of which varies with the class of monument. This area does not define the extent of the monument, nor does it define a buffer area beyond which ground disturbance should not take place – it merely identifies an area of land within which it is expected that the monument will be located. It is not a constraint area for screening – such must be set by the relevant authority who requires screening for their own purposes.
This data has been released for download as Open Data under the DPER Open Data Strategy and is licensed for re-use under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0


Please note that the centre point of each record is not indicative of the geographic extent of the monument. The existing point centroids were digitised relative to the OSI 6-inch mapping and the move from this older IG-referenced series to the larger-scale ITM mapping will necessitate revisions. The accuracy of the derived ITM co-ordinates is limited to the OS 6-inch scale and errors may ensue should the user apply the co-ordinates to larger scale maps. 

This dataset is provided for re-use in a number of ways and the technical options are outlined below. For a live and current view of the data, please use the web services or the data extract tool in the Historic Environment Viewer. The National Monuments Service also provide an Open Data snapshot of its national dataset in CSV as a bulk data download. Users should consult the National Monument Service website https://www.archaeology.ie/ for further information and guidance on the National Monument Act(s) and the legal significance of this dataset.

Open Data Bulk Data Downloads (version date: 01/12/2025) - Please note that Redundant Records are longer included in the SMR open data products

The Sites and Monuments Record (SMR) is provided as a national download in Comma Separated Value (CSV) format. This format can be easily integrated into a number of software clients for re-use and analysis. The Longitude and Latitude coordinates are also provided to aid its re-use in web mapping systems, however, the ITM easting/northings coordinates should be quoted for official purposes. ERSI Shapefiles of the SMR points and SMRZone polygons are also available
The SMRZones represent an area around each monument, the scale of which varies with the class of monument. This area does not define the extent of the monument, nor does it define a buffer area beyond which ground disturbance should not take place – it merely identifies an area of land within which it is expected that the monument will be located. It is not a constraint area for screening – such must be set by the relevant authority who requires screening for their own purposes.

GIS Web Service APIs (live views):

For users with access to GIS software please note that the Archaeological Survey of Ireland data is also available spatial data web services. By accessing and consuming the web service users are deemed to have accepted the Terms and Conditions. The web services are available at the URL endpoints advertised below:

SMR; https://services-eu1.arcgis.com/HyjXgkV6KGMSF3jt/arcgis/rest/services/SMROpenData/FeatureServer

SMRZone; https://services-eu1.arcgis.com/HyjXgkV6KGMSF3jt/arcgis/rest/services/SMRZoneOpenData/FeatureServer 

Historic Environment Viewer - Query Tool

The "Query" tool can alternatively be used to selectively filter and download the data represented in the Historic Environment Viewer. The instructions for using this tool in the Historic Environment Viewer are detailed in the associated Help file: https://www.archaeology.ie/sites/default/files/media/pdf/HEV_UserGuide_v01.pdf

Tags: archaeology, architecture, environment, ireland, planningcadastre, protected sites
Organization: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage