About Us

Working with a range of academic and non-academic organisations, MOLA has drawn together archaeological sub-disciplines, and developed cross-disciplinary partnerships. This includes partnering with universities, museums, heritage and cultural organisations, local authorities and the property development sector.

There are a number of ways in which MOLA contributes to projects and collaborates with other organisations, including:

Sharing archaeological data

MOLA has been excavating, recording and studying archaeology in London and across UK for over 40 years and has an extensive database of archaeological data in its GIS, covering all periods of history and types of material, from monuments to artefacts. Integrating this data into research projects has been the basis of many fruitful partnerships, such as The London Evolution Animation.

Sharing expertise

With one of the largest in-house teams of archaeological specialists in Europe, actively undertaking research on a day to day basis, the expertise of the MOLA team is the basis for many collaborative projects. This includes the georeferencing of data onto historical maps for the Locating London's Past project.

Research with the community

Bringing together volunteers, heritage organisations or local groups, MOLA leads a number of research projects that are built on community participation. The data collected by local communities through projects like the Thames Discovery Programme and CITiZAN (Coastal and Intertidal Zone Archaeological Network) is a lasting archaeological record that forms the basis of research projects today and in the future. 

Contributing to great places

A large part of MOLA’s work is undertaken for the development sector as part of the planning process. Modern sustainable development emphasises the need to create great places, with which local communities can identify. MOLA has carried out research with developers to understand and build a sense of place, including the Temple of Mithras Oral History project.

Access to archaeological material

With thousands artefacts, human remains, collections of environmental and zooarchaeological material in their care, MOLA works with research organisations to provide access to this material and expertise. The osteological collections and expertise of MOLA’s osteoarchaeologists played a central role in the Digitised Diseases project.