FISH Event Types Thesaurus
type: ConceptScheme
issued: 2026-02-05
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: England
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
description: Terminology used for recording archaeological and architectural investigative, data collection exercises; from intrusive interventions to non damaging surveys.
has top concept: Non Intrusive Event
has top concept: Intrusive Event

Building Survey
type: Concept
alternative label: Building Elevation Survey
alternative label: Building Plan Survey
alternative label: Building Recording
alternative label: Cross Sectional Building Survey
broader: Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: A descriptive survey involving the systematic measurement and recording of the dimensions or features of a building. Where the survey is accompanied by systematic investigation and analysis, use Architectural Survey.

Topographic Survey
type: Concept
alternative label: Contour Survey
broader: Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: The controlled measurement of natural and artificial landscape features to produce a measured plan or a 3D data set reading as a plan. Features are depicted by either hachures, symbols or contour lines.

Infrared Aerial Photography
type: Concept
alternative label: Infra Red Aerial Photography
broader: Multi Spectral Aerial Photography
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Aerial photography using infrared sensitive film or sensors to reveal soil and vegetation characteristics not apparent in photographs derived from conventional aerial photography.

Infrared Line Scan Aerial Photography
type: Concept
alternative label: Infra Red Line Scan Aerial Photography
broader: Multi Spectral Aerial Photography
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: A specific type of Infrared photography that uses an airborne scanning infrared sensor to record differential spectrums of features both extant and buried.

Infrared Thermography Survey
type: Concept
alternative label: Infra Red Thermography Survey
broader: Multi Spectral Aerial Photography
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: An investigative method using an infrared camera to detect temperature differences in the ground. The thermal camera does not record the actual temperature of the object in question. Instead the camera records the infrared radiation emitted by the object.

Rescue Excavation
type: Concept
alternative label: Salvage Excavation
broader: Excavation
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Controlled investigation, recording and removal of archaeological deposits under threat of destruction from building development. A pre PPG 16 activity, usually under strict time constraints.

Side Scan Sonar Survey
type: Concept
alternative label: Side Scanning Sonar Survey
alternative label: Side Looking Sonar Survey
alternative label: Bottom Classification Sonar
broader: Sonar Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Underwater investigation of the seabed, using side-looking sonar device that emits fan shaped acoustic pulses down toward the seafloor. The intensity of the acoustic reflections from the sea floor are recorded as an image of the seabed.

Strip Map And Sample
type: Concept
alternative label: Strip And Record
broader: Excavation
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: An excavation technique that involves the machine stripping the topsoil/subsoil from the area to be excavated, plotting observed features onto a site plan and then partially or fully excavating those features.

Geotechnical Test Pit
type: Concept
alternative label: Subsoil Test Pit
broader: Geotechnical Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Test pits dug by geotechnical engineers or engineering geologists to obtain information on the physical properties of soil, sediments and bedrock around a site to design earthworks and foundations for proposed structures.

Systematic Fieldwalking Survey
type: Concept
alternative label: Surface Collection
alternative label: Fieldwalking
alternative label: Topsoil Artefact Survey
broader: Fieldwalking Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: The systematic study of ground surfaces and collection of visible archaeological material. Fieldwalking can be carried out as line-walking, grid collection and transect or quadrant sampling. Any material recovered is logged and stored by sample unit.

Unsystematic Fieldwalking Survey
type: Concept
alternative label: Surface Collection
alternative label: Fieldwalking
alternative label: Topsoil Artefact Survey
broader: Fieldwalking Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: The unsystematic study of ground surfaces and collection of visible archaeological material.

Seismic Survey
type: Concept
alternative label: Seismograph Survey
broader: Geophysical Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: An acoustic method which involves the creation of a shock wave through the ground. By recording the time interval between the initial shock and the reflected or refracted shock waves it is possible to define subsurface deposits.

Electrical Resistivity Tomography
type: Concept
alternative label: Electrical Resistivity Imaging Survey
alternative label: Resistivity Profile
broader: Geophysical Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: A geophysical technique for imaging subsurface structures in cross section from electrical measurements made at the surface, or by electrodes in one or more boreholes.

Earth Resistance (Resistivity) Survey
type: Concept
alternative label: Resistivity Survey
alternative label: Earth Resistance Survey
alternative label: Electrical Survey
alternative label: Geophysical Resistivity
broader: Geophysical Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Examination, recording and plotting of variations in the electrical resistivity of soils in order to locate and define buried features.

Photogrammetric Survey
type: Concept
alternative label: Photogrammetry
broader: Photographic Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: The measurement of a surface, either in elevation or plan, determined from measurements derived from two or more photographic images taken from different positions; this allows three dimensional viewing of the surface to be mapped.

Box Trenching
type: Concept
alternative label: Grid Excavation
broader: Excavation
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: A system of excavation, developed by Mortimer Wheeler, whereby a site was uncovered by means of a grid of square trenches with baulks between them to aid the recording of the stratification of all four sides of each trench.

Trial Trench
type: Concept
alternative label: Targeted Trenches
alternative label: Sample Trenches
broader: Evaluation
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Archaeologically excavated trench, either hand of machine dug, as part of a sampling programme to evaluate the presence/absence, nature, preservation, age and extent of any buried archaeological features.

Magnetic Susceptibility Survey
type: Concept
alternative label: Geophysical Magnetic Susceptibility
broader: Geophysical Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: The extraction of samples from selected features on a site to identify a characteristic magnetic response from sediments derived from the features in order to predict the response that similar features would produce. Also used to prospect for sites.

Magnetometry Survey
type: Concept
alternative label: Geophysical Magnetometer
broader: Geophysical Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Survey using a magnetometer, a device capable of detecting variations in magnetic susceptibility between topsoils, subsoils and rocks, can also be used in a maritime context to detect variations in the magnetic field of seabed sediments.

Ground Penetrating Radar Survey
type: Concept
alternative label: Ground Penetrating Radar
broader: Geophysical Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: A technique that measures the amount of time it takes pulses of electromagnetic energy sent into the ground, from a transmitter, to reflect back from the interfaces between layers and other subsurface features in order to produce a subsurface profile.

Test Pit
type: Concept
alternative label: Test Pits
alternative label: Test Pit Survey
alternative label: Sondage
broader: Evaluation
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Systematically positioned hole, or holes, utilised in all studies that aim to sample the nature of the topsoil and subsurface deposits.

Metal Detecting Survey
type: Concept
alternative label: Metal Detectors
alternative label: Systematic Metal Detector Survey
broader: Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
related: Metal Detecting Use
scope note: Structured & carefully executed scanning of the ground surface with a metal detecting device in order to recover surface scatters of metal objects & plot them spatially within the study area as part of an archaeological survey or metal detecting rally.

Field Observation (Visual Assessment)
type: Concept
alternative label: Visual Inspection
broader: Observation
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: A site visit to ascertain the nature and extent of the site and its surrounding environs by means of a visual inspection from which a written and/or photographic record is made.

Airborne Laser Scanning (Lidar) Survey
type: Concept
alternative label: Airborne Lidar Survey
alternative label: Airborne Laser Scanning
broader: Aerial Reconnaissance
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
related: Laser Scanning Survey
related: Airborne Laser Scanning Survey
scope note: Light detection and ranging is a type of aircraft based remote sensing which records reflected laser pulses. The data can be used to produce very accurate digital elevation models. For ground-based work use LASER SCANNING SURVEY.

Grab Sampling
type: Concept
alternative label: Grab Survey
broader: Archaeological Intervention
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: A maritime technique which involves the simple process of bringing up surface sediments from the seafloor for analysis usually using mechanical apparatus. As the process recovers a mixture of sediments it cannot be used to characterise stratigraphy.

Graveyard Survey
type: Concept
alternative label: Burial Ground Survey
broader: Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: The systematic survey and recording of graveyards and burial spaces recording the position of individual grave markers and the detail of any inscriptions.

Aerial Photography
type: Concept
broader: Aerial Reconnaissance
narrower: Conventional Aerial Photography
narrower: Multi Spectral Aerial Photography
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
related: Aerial Photograph Interpretation
scope note: The taking of photographs from above using photographic equipment mounted on, or used from an aircraft or other airborne vehicle.

Conventional Aerial Photography
type: Concept
broader: Aerial Photography
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Capturing visible spectrum photographs or images of monument features or character using still or motion cameras from an aircraft or other airborne vehicle or apparatus. Covers both digital and film-based cameras.

Aerial Reconnaissance
type: Concept
narrower: Aerial Photography
narrower: Airborne Laser Scanning (Lidar) Survey
broader: Remote Sensing
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Airborne survey to discover, record and monitor archaeological sites and other heritage assets. Sites will usually be recorded by aerial photography.

Remote Sensing
type: Concept
narrower: Aerial Reconnaissance
narrower: Satellite Imaging
narrower: Underwater Remote Operated Vehicle Survey
narrower: Terrain Mapping From Aerial Photography
broader: Non Intrusive Event
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Survey using photographic or other recording equipment mounted on or used from either an aircraft or other airborne vehicle or a maritime vessel/submersible craft.

Satellite Imaging
type: Concept
broader: Remote Sensing
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: The capture of imagery using an orbiting satellite. The type of imagery is very varied including visible light photography, infrared and multi spectral photography as well as imagery derived from radar and lidar data.

Underwater Remote Operated Vehicle Survey
type: Concept
broader: Remote Sensing
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: A technique utilised in maritime recording; a remote operated vehicle (ROV) is a tethered underwater robot. ROVs have been used to locate and inspect a number of historic shipwrecks in depths beyond the reach of human divers.

Terrain Mapping From Aerial Photography
type: Concept
broader: Remote Sensing
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Use of images from an aircraft to create a 3D model of the ground surface. This includes use of conventional aircraft or remote controlled aircraft (drones).

Archaeological Intervention
type: Concept
broader: Intrusive Event
narrower: Auger Survey
narrower: Borehole Survey
narrower: Evaluation
narrower: Excavation
narrower: Field Observation (Monitoring)
narrower: Metal Detecting Use
narrower: Salvage Recording
narrower: Watching Brief
narrower: Grab Sampling
narrower: Geoarchaeological Investigation
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Any activity, undertaken by professional archaeologists or experienced amateurs, that has a physical impact, actual or potential, upon the archaeological resource, substituting the physical resource with recorded information.

Field Observation (Monitoring)
type: Concept
broader: Archaeological Intervention
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Periodic visits being made to a site by an archaeologist to record archaeological deposits and recover finds that have come to light since the previous visit. An archaeological presence is not maintained during groundwork as it is with a watching brief.

Salvage Recording
type: Concept
broader: Archaeological Intervention
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: The monitoring of the excavation of a hole made by a non-archaeologically trained person. Any archaeological evidence that comes to light is recorded by the archaeologist during the course of the work although he/she cannot suspend the groundwork.

Watching Brief
type: Concept
broader: Archaeological Intervention
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: A formal programme of observation and investigation conducted during any operation carried out for non-archaeological reasons that may damage archaeological deposits. This will be within a specified area or site on land, inter-tidal zone or underwater.

Geoarchaeological Investigation
type: Concept
broader: Archaeological Intervention
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Geoarchaeological field surveys are aimed primarily at gathering data with which to understand human-landscape relations with the aim of constructing integrated sequences and models of human landscape systems through time.

Intrusive Event
type: Concept
narrower: Archaeological Intervention
narrower: Environmental Intervention
narrower: Non Archaeological Intervention
narrower: Salvage
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
top concept of: FISH Event Types Thesaurus

Salvage
type: Concept
broader: Intrusive Event
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: The recovery of items, including cargo, structural components and fixtures and fittings from the wreck of a vessel or crash site of an aircraft.

Architectural Survey
type: Concept
broader: Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Recording and analysis of built structures utilising close observation as well as manual or electronic survey equipment such as GPS and REDM (Reflectorless Electromagnetic Distance Measurement). Includes research, fieldwork and a report.

Survey
type: Concept
narrower: Architectural Survey
narrower: Bosing Survey
narrower: Building Survey
narrower: Dowsing Survey
narrower: Geophysical Survey
narrower: Measured Survey
narrower: Metal Detecting Survey
narrower: Photographic Survey
narrower: Topographic Survey
narrower: Geomorphological Survey
narrower: Laser Scanning Survey
narrower: Photographic Recording
narrower: Analytical Earthwork Survey
narrower: Hedgerow Survey
narrower: Walkover Survey
narrower: Fieldwalking Survey
narrower: Underwater Survey
narrower: Graveyard Survey
narrower: Field Survey
narrower: Buildings Recording And Investigation
narrower: Airborne Laser Scanning Interpretation
narrower: Aerial Investigation And Mapping
narrower: Arborglyph Survey
broader: Non Intrusive Event
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: The non intrusive processes by which information is collected about the location, distribution and organisation of past human activities. The approaches can be either extensive or intensive depending the objectivies that need to be addressed.

Bosing Survey
type: Concept
broader: Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: A subsurface detection method performed by striking the ground with a heavy wooden mallet or a lead-filled container on a long handle.

Dowsing Survey
type: Concept
broader: Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: The supposed detection of subsurface features by employing a twig, copper rod, pendulum, or other instrument. Discontinuous movements in these instruments are believed by some to record the existence of buried features.

Measured Survey
type: Concept
broader: Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: A dimensional check on a building or site giving detailed measurements.

Geomorphological Survey
type: Concept
broader: Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Field survey undertaken to investigate land formation processes often carried out in association with, or in the vicinity of, an archaeological site, or as part of a wider landscape project.

Photographic Recording
type: Concept
broader: Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: The taking of photographs during informal site visits, which may be undertaken by amateur archaeologists or architectural students. More formal, detailed surveys should be termed Photographic Survey.

Analytical Earthwork Survey
type: Concept
broader: Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: The accurate survey and analytical depiction of earthworks and their relative chronological relationships by means of hachures and related symbols.

Hedgerow Survey
type: Concept
broader: Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: The assessment of the age of a hedge based on its nature, condition and the number and type of woody plant species present. Most surveys make use of Hooper's hypothesis which states that for every 27m a new woody species invades a hedge every 100 years.

Walkover Survey
type: Concept
broader: Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: A planned programme of investigation conducted within a defined area aimed at identifying and surveying previously unrecorded sites and checking the condition of known sites.

Underwater Survey
type: Concept
broader: Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: The non intrusive processes by which information is collected about the location, distribution and organisation of past human activities that are now submerged by water. The approaches can be either extensive or intensive depending on the objectives.

Field Survey
type: Concept
broader: Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: The collection of information relating to the location, distribution and organisation of past human activities involving field or site-based investigation of a certain geographic area.

Airborne Laser Scanning Interpretation
type: Concept
broader: Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: The interpretation of information on airborne laser scanning (lidar) usually resulting in records of archaeological sites and landscapes. For mapping projects use 'aerial investigation and mapping'.

Aerial Investigation And Mapping
type: Concept
broader: Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: The interpretation of information on aerial photographs &/or airborne laser scanning (lidar) resulting in the production of maps & records of archaeological sites & landscapes. Many sources of aerial images may be consulted for a single analytical survey.

Arborglyph Survey
type: Concept
broader: Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Survey to locate identify and record carvings into the bark of trees.

Auger Survey
type: Concept
broader: Environmental Intervention
broader: Archaeological Intervention
broader: Non Archaeological Intervention
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Transect or area-based arrangements of drilled auger-holes used to describe deposits and collect samples.

Environmental Intervention
type: Concept
narrower: Auger Survey
narrower: Borehole Survey
narrower: Dendrochronological Survey
narrower: Environmental Sampling
narrower: Geochemical Survey
narrower: Timber Sampling
broader: Intrusive Event
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Intervention into the archaeological resource intended to gather information about past ecologies and economies, formation processes, and to retrieve material for scientific dating purposes.

Dendrochronological Survey
type: Concept
broader: Environmental Intervention
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: The extraction of wood samples for dating analysis. Tree ring dating is the science of dating cultural and environmental events in the past by comparative study of the growth rings in trees and aged wood.

Timber Sampling
type: Concept
broader: Environmental Intervention
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: The extraction of a limited quantity of wood for scientific analysis.

Non Archaeological Intervention
type: Concept
narrower: Auger Survey
narrower: Borehole Survey
narrower: Metal Detecting Use
narrower: Casual Observation
narrower: Geotechnical Survey
broader: Intrusive Event
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Any activities, that have a physical impact upon the archaeological resource where the purpose is not primarily archaeological research.

Casual Observation
type: Concept
broader: Non Archaeological Intervention
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: The unplanned observation of archaeological features or the recovery of artefacts of interest, for example either random finds by members of the public or the unplanned observation of archaeological features during the course of unmonitored developments.

Borehole Survey
type: Concept
broader: Environmental Intervention
broader: Archaeological Intervention
broader: Non Archaeological Intervention
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Type of survey involving the drilling of deep and narrow shafts in the ground used to describe deposits, understand stratigraphy and collect cores amples.

Excavation
type: Concept
narrower: Box Trenching
narrower: Open Area Excavation
narrower: Rescue Excavation
narrower: Strip Map And Sample
narrower: Research Excavation
narrower: Underwater Excavation
narrower: Antiquarian Excavation
broader: Archaeological Intervention
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Controlled intrusive fieldwork which examines, records and interprets archaeological deposits, features and structures and, as appropriate, retrieves artefacts and ecofact remains within a specified area or site on land or within the inter-tidal zone.

Open Area Excavation
type: Concept
broader: Excavation
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Controlled investigation, recording and removal of archaeological deposits according to the principles of strategraphic excavation. The size of an open area can range from holes to examine pile foundations to extensive trenches of 100 square meters.

Research Excavation
type: Concept
broader: Excavation
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Controlled investigation, recording and removal of archaeological deposits in targeted areas in order to answer specific questions relating to a particular archaeological site or landscape. Usually undertaken by university departments or amateur groups.

Underwater Excavation
type: Concept
broader: Excavation
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Controlled intrusive fieldwork which examines, records and interprets archaeological deposits, features and structures and, as appropriate, retrieves artefacts and ecofact remains within a specified underwater area.

Antiquarian Excavation
type: Concept
broader: Excavation
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Late post medieval unscientific excavations the goal of which was the collection of artifacts, curiosities and treasures usually for private display.

Core Sampling
type: Concept
broader: Environmental Sampling
narrower: Gravity Core
narrower: Vibro Core
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: The retrieval of samples for laboratory analysis from buried features that have been sampled using boring equipment.

Gravity Core
type: Concept
broader: Core Sampling
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: A maritime coring technique which penetrates the ground due to the force of gravity. Since the speed of penetration is the same as the sampling speed, it barely disrupts the sedimentary layers. A cable attached to the ship is used to recover the core.

Vibro Core
type: Concept
broader: Core Sampling
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: A maritime coring technique which uses vibration to facilitate ground penetration. With the force of gravity, and sometimes a piston, it can penetrate much deeper layers although the vibration provokes a slight mixing of the sediments.

Environmental Sampling
type: Concept
narrower: Core Sampling
narrower: Monolith Sampling
narrower: Archaeomagnetic Sampling
broader: Environmental Intervention
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Removal of samples from deposits, including archaeological contexts to recover information about past environments and economies, retrieve material for scientific dating and for the investigation of the deposits themselves e.g. formation processes.

Monolith Sampling
type: Concept
broader: Environmental Sampling
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Removal of a sample from a vertical section generally using a U sectioned tin to extract an intact column of the observed stratigraphy. Used in the study of pollen, diatoms etc.

Archaeomagnetic Sampling
type: Concept
broader: Environmental Sampling
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Removal of samples from insitu deposits for dating analysis by studying the remnant magnetism contained within the deposit.

Desk Based Assessment
type: Concept
broader: Assessment And Analysis
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: A programme of assessment of the known or potential archaeological resource within a specified area or site on land, inter-tidal zone or underwater by the consultation and collation of existing written, graphic, photographic and electronic data.

Assessment And Analysis
type: Concept
narrower: Desk Based Assessment
narrower: Environmental Impact Assessment
narrower: Management Survey
narrower: Historic Landscape Characterisation
narrower: Historic Seascape Characterisation
narrower: Historic Area Assessment
narrower: Thematic Survey
narrower: Aerial Photograph Interpretation
narrower: Conservation Area Appraisal
narrower: Post Excavation Assessment
narrower: Airborne Laser Scanning Survey
narrower: Condition Survey
narrower: Documentary Research
narrower: Building Fabric Analysis
narrower: Heritage Assessment
narrower: Historic Urban Characterisation
narrower: Landscape Survey
narrower: Automated Object Detection
narrower: Data Assessment
broader: Non Intrusive Event
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Programmes of research that seek to identify the archaeological and/or architectural significance of a site or landscape.

Environmental Impact Assessment
type: Concept
broader: Assessment And Analysis
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: An information gathering exercise to facilitate an understanding of the potential environmental impact of a development proposal; includes the collation of specialist reports from a variety of disciplines.

Management Survey
type: Concept
broader: Assessment And Analysis
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: A field and desk based assessment of heritage asset condition and vulnerability so that informed decisions can be made regarding how best to manage the resource.

Historic Area Assessment
type: Concept
broader: Assessment And Analysis
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: An overview of the historical and architectural development, character and heritage assets of a settlement or area. An HAA may result in the creation, at varying levels of intensity, of individual site-based records informed by area context.

Thematic Survey
type: Concept
broader: Assessment And Analysis
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: The investigation of heritage assets along thematic lines, usually to inform the production of a thematic study. Such studies bring specialist insights to bear on the particular area of study, but may not address other aspects of the site's significance.

Conservation Area Appraisal
type: Concept
broader: Assessment And Analysis
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: An objective analysis of the elements which together define the special architectural or historic interest of a specific area.

Post Excavation Assessment
type: Concept
broader: Assessment And Analysis
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: An initial synthesis of the data collected from an excavation.

Condition Survey
type: Concept
broader: Assessment And Analysis
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Programmes of investigation which assess and record the condition of heritage assets.

Documentary Research
type: Concept
broader: Assessment And Analysis
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Programmes of research or investigation involving the examination of primary documentary material to inform the understanding of heritage assets.

Building Fabric Analysis
type: Concept
broader: Assessment And Analysis
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: The recording and analysis of the fabric of a structure or bnuilding

Heritage Assessment
type: Concept
broader: Assessment And Analysis
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Programmes of research or investigation which seek to identify the significance of a heritage asset, often to inform proposals for change

Historic Urban Characterisation
type: Concept
broader: Assessment And Analysis
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: A holistic approach to urban character, using GIS to map areas of urban character and historical development, as a tool for managing future change in ways that are appropriate and sustainable.

Landscape Survey
type: Concept
broader: Assessment And Analysis
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: An overview using multiple techniques to determine the archaeological & historical & development, character & heritage assets of a landscape or defined area. This may result in the creation, at varying levels of intensity, of individual site-based records.

Automated Object Detection
type: Concept
broader: Assessment And Analysis
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: A range of semi-automated techniques using computer vision and machine learning to recognise potential archaeological features from airborne laser scanning (LiDAR) and satellite products.

Data Assessment
type: Concept
broader: Assessment And Analysis
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: An assessment of data collected during surveys and/or investigations.

Evaluation
type: Concept
broader: Archaeological Intervention
narrower: Test Pit
narrower: Trial Trench
narrower: Underwater Evaluation
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: A limited programme of intrusive fieldwork which determines the presence or absence of archaeological features, structures, deposits, artefacts or ecofacts within a specified area or site on land or within the inter-tidal zone.

Underwater Evaluation
type: Concept
broader: Evaluation
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: A limited programme of intrusive fieldwork which determines the presence or absence of archaeological features, structures, deposits, artefacts or ecofacts within a specified underwater area.

Non Intrusive Event
type: Concept
narrower: Survey
narrower: Remote Sensing
narrower: Assessment And Analysis
narrower: Observation
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
top concept of: FISH Event Types Thesaurus

Fieldwalking Survey
type: Concept
narrower: Systematic Fieldwalking Survey
narrower: Unsystematic Fieldwalking Survey
broader: Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England

Geochemical Survey
type: Concept
broader: Environmental Intervention
narrower: Phosphate Survey
narrower: X Ray Fluorescence Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: The taking of samples at regular intervals from the surface of a study area in order to retrieve information on the different chemical elements present.

Phosphate Survey
type: Concept
broader: Geochemical Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: The systematic collection of samples from a defined study area analysed for phosphate content. Elevated concentrations of phosphate are a generalised signature of human activity.

X Ray Fluorescence Survey
type: Concept
broader: Geochemical Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: The systematic use of portable X-Ray Fluorescence equipment to retrieve information on the different chemical elements present in the soil.

Geophysical Survey
type: Concept
broader: Survey
narrower: Ground Penetrating Radar Survey
narrower: Magnetic Susceptibility Survey
narrower: Magnetometry Survey
narrower: Earth Resistance (Resistivity) Survey
narrower: Seismic Survey
narrower: Microgravity Survey
narrower: Electrical Resistivity Tomography
narrower: Sonar Survey
narrower: Acoustic Ground Discriminating System
narrower: Electromagnetic Survey
narrower: 3D Seismic Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Ground-based or marine subsurface mapping of archaeological features using different sensing technologies. Most commonly applied are magnetometers, electrical resistance meters, ground penetrating radar, side scan sonar, and electromagnetic conductivity.

Microgravity Survey
type: Concept
broader: Geophysical Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: A sensing technique that consists of measuring minute variations in the gravitational pull of the Earth in order to detect gravity anomalies arising from voids and cavities within the earth.

Acoustic Ground Discriminating System
type: Concept
broader: Geophysical Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: An extra processing unit which can be used in conjunction with single beam echo sounders to determine the roughness and hardness of the seafloor. Mainly used for marine biology, but has been used in archaeology.

Electromagnetic Survey
type: Concept
broader: Geophysical Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Technique using electromagnetic fields to map subsurface electrical conductivity anomalies. Can be used as a high-sensitivity metal detector.

Multi Spectral Aerial Photography
type: Concept
narrower: Infrared Aerial Photography
narrower: Infrared Line Scan Aerial Photography
narrower: Infrared Thermography Survey
broader: Aerial Photography
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Recording using specialist equipment that allows discrete wavelengths in the visible spectrum and beyond to be recorded. The combination of different spectral bands allows features to be identified that would not be visible to the naked eye.

Metal Detecting Use
type: Concept
broader: Archaeological Intervention
broader: Non Archaeological Intervention
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
related: Metal Detecting Survey
scope note: The hobby of using a metal detector to hunt for buried coins or artefacts; alternatively the use of a metal detector to locate metal artefacts on an archaeological excavation that otherwise would go unnoticed.

Photographic Survey
type: Concept
narrower: Photogrammetric Survey
narrower: Rectified Photographic Survey
broader: Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Detailed survey using photographic images to record archaeological and architectural sites or features of interest. Record photography is an important aspect of recording such features before they are destroyed.

Rectified Photographic Survey
type: Concept
broader: Photographic Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Systematic recording of building facades that produces a seamless mosaic of digital images by identifying control points and defining limits to each image. The rectified mosaic can then be introduced into a CAD environment.

Sub Bottom Profiling Survey
type: Concept
broader: Sonar Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
related: 3D Seismic Survey
scope note: Used to identify and measure various sediment layers that exist below the seabed. A sound source emits a signal vertically downwards and a receiver monitors the return signal that has been reflected off the seafloor and sub seabed sediment layers.

Sonar Survey
type: Concept
narrower: Sub Bottom Profiling Survey
narrower: Side Scan Sonar Survey
narrower: Single Beam Echo Sounder Survey
narrower: Bathymetric Survey
narrower: Multi Beam Echo Sounder Survey
broader: Geophysical Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Active sonar systems are based on the behaviour of sound waves in water; acoustic energy is transmitted and the time for the returning echo is measured to allow submerged seabed features to be mapped. Use specific type where known.

Single Beam Echo Sounder Survey
type: Concept
broader: Sonar Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: An underwater technique that records bathymetric (depth) data by generating point depths in a line directly beneath the transducer mounted on a vessel as it progresses along the acquisition line.

Bathymetric Survey
type: Concept
broader: Sonar Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: A maritime investigation that records depth data which can be used to map submerged topography utilising echo sounders which emit a short acoustic pulse. Depth is calculated by measuring the time taken for the pulse to be reflected back to the transducer.

Multi Beam Echo Sounder Survey
type: Concept
broader: Sonar Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: An underwater technique used to create 3D terrain models and to record objects on the seabed through the comparative analysis of reflections from high frequency sound waves emitted in multiple beams allowing large swathes of the seabed to be surveyed.

Antiquarian Observation
type: Concept
broader: Observation
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Observations made by antiquarians (Those who studied sites and landscapes prior to archaeology and architectural history becoming established disciplines in the 19th century) and reported through publication or from unpublished manuscripts.

Observation
type: Concept
narrower: Antiquarian Observation
narrower: Field Visit
narrower: Field Observation (Visual Assessment)
narrower: Diver Inspection
broader: Non Intrusive Event
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England

Field Visit
type: Concept
broader: Observation
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Observations made by an archaeologist or architectural historian as the result of a field visit to a site or monument.

Diver Inspection
type: Concept
broader: Observation
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: An assessment of a known wreck or underwater archaeological site through diving.

Laser Scanning Survey
type: Concept
broader: Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
related: Airborne Laser Scanning (Lidar) Survey
scope note: The recording of a surface, or surfaces, using scanning technologies, to create a 3D model of the target structure/object.

Geotechnical Survey
type: Concept
narrower: Geotechnical Test Pit
broader: Non Archaeological Intervention
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Any subsurface investigation conducted to assist with the technical rather than archaeological aspects of a proposed development or extraction scheme.

Historic Landscape Characterisation
type: Concept
broader: Assessment And Analysis
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
related: Historic Seascape Characterisation
scope note: An holistic approach to landscape, using GIS, which maps diversity of landscape character as a means to managing future change in ways that are appropriate and sustainable.

Historic Seascape Characterisation
type: Concept
broader: Assessment And Analysis
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
related: Historic Landscape Characterisation
scope note: A map-based understanding of coastal and marine historic character; its GIS and linked texts extend Historic Landscape Characterisation principles to give a common framework of baseline information for the sustainable management of change from land to sea

3D Seismic Survey
type: Concept
broader: Geophysical Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
related: Sub Bottom Profiling Survey
scope note: A maritime technique similar in theory to sub bottom profilers, however for 3D seismic surveys the receiver array is more complex involving multiple receivers so that a volume of sediment is studied rather than a single 2D line.

Aerial Photograph Interpretation
type: Concept
broader: Assessment And Analysis
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
related: Aerial Photography
scope note: The interpretation of information on aerial photographs usually resulting in the production of maps and records of archaeological sites and landscapes. Many aerial photographs may be consulted for a single analytical survey.

Airborne Laser Scanning Survey
type: Concept
broader: Assessment And Analysis
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
related: Airborne Laser Scanning (Lidar) Survey
scope note: The interpretation of visualisations derived from Airborne Laser Scanning, or LiDAR, data usually resulting in the identification of archaeological features and landscapes.

Buildings Investigation (England)
type: Concept
broader: Buildings Recording And Investigation
narrower: Descriptive Buildings Record (Level 2)
narrower: Analytical Buildings Record (Level 3)
narrower: Comprehensive Analytical Buildings Record (Level 4)
narrower: Visual Buildings Record (Level 1)
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: The process of investigating and recording historic buildings for the purposes of historical understanding.

Descriptive Buildings Record (Level 2)
type: Concept
broader: Buildings Investigation (England)
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Visual and descriptive record of a building, usually interior and exterior. Equivalent to Historic England Level 2.

Analytical Buildings Record (Level 3)
type: Concept
broader: Buildings Investigation (England)
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Visual, descriptive and analytical record of a building, usually interior and exterior. Equivalent to Historic England Level 3.

Comprehensive Analytical Buildings Record (Level 4)
type: Concept
broader: Buildings Investigation (England)
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Visual and descriptive record of a building, drawing on the full range of sources and including consideration of significance. Equivalent to Historic England Level 4.

Visual Buildings Record (Level 1)
type: Concept
broader: Buildings Investigation (England)
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Visual record of a building, usually exterior only. Equivalent to Historic England Level 1.

Buildings Recording And Investigation
type: Concept
narrower: Buildings Investigation (England)
narrower: Buildings Investigation (Scotland)
broader: Survey
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: Includes the processes for investigating and recording historic buildings. Differences in terminology may apply to the recording of buildings due to the approach taken. As such, concepts in this hierarchy may be country specific.

Buildings Investigation (Scotland)
type: Concept
broader: Buildings Recording And Investigation
narrower: Buildings Appraisal
narrower: Basic Building Survey (Level 1)
narrower: Enhanced Building Survey (Level 2)
narrower: Detailed Building Survey (Level 3)
narrower: Comprehensive Building Survey (Level 4)
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: The process of investigating and recording historic buildings for the purposes of historical understanding.

Buildings Appraisal
type: Concept
broader: Buildings Investigation (Scotland)
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: A preliminary assessment of a building or structure, often carried out as pre-application work, including an archive assessment, a general description of the structure, photographs and an annotated ground plan.

Basic Building Survey (Level 1)
type: Concept
broader: Buildings Investigation (Scotland)
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: A written description of the structure including archive assessment supported by drawn and photographic evidence including a ground plan.

Enhanced Building Survey (Level 2)
type: Concept
broader: Buildings Investigation (Scotland)
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: A written, drawn and photographic record, including a ground plan and elevations to produce an adequate record of the structure.

Detailed Building Survey (Level 3)
type: Concept
broader: Buildings Investigation (Scotland)
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: A descriptive account of the building supported by detailed archive research, annotated measured plans and elevations and a detailed photographic record.

Comprehensive Building Survey (Level 4)
type: Concept
broader: Buildings Investigation (Scotland)
in scheme: FISH Event Types Thesaurus
issued: 2026-02-05T17:00:43
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
attribution URL: https://historicengland.org.uk/
attribution name: Historic England
publisher: historicengland.org.uk
spatial: http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7002445
spatial: England
scope note: A comprehensive written report drawing together the evidence from the recording programme, archive research and consideration of the historical and landscape context supported by measured plans and elevations and a thorough photographic survey.