Collections policies

Our collection has a history going back nearly 200 years and is the world's largest collection relating to a single urban centre. It covers over 450,000 years of history and is the most important source for the material evidence of London's past.

Our policy outlines what we currently have in our collections and our priorities for future collecting.

As London's DNA, our collections underpin all that we do. Our exhibitions, learning and research can only be effectively delivered if the collections are well documented, stored and conserved.

Our management policy ensures we meet standards and maintain accurate information about the collections.

Human remains are an important part of our archaeological collections and provide important evidence about the past lives of Londoners.

We have around 35,000 skeletonised human remains from archaeological excavations in London. Our policy outlines how we use, handle and care for them.

We support a large programme of loans to enable our collections to be seen by a wider audience than the visitors to our sites, and to promote an understanding of London’s history.

Our policy states what objects we lend from our collections, why they're lent and who they can be lent to.