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CJO Now Includes:

The Antiquaries Journal is an international, multi-disciplinary, peer-reviewed journal founded in 1920 and published in two online issues in March and September and an annual printed volume combining both issues, published in October.

The content of the Journal reflects the aims of the Society of Antiquaries of London, which exists for ‘the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries’. The Journal thus aims to reflect the multi-disciplinary nature of the study of material culture, publishing a balanced mix of papers from all periods, from prehistory to the recent past and addressing research questions from a variety of perspectives.  

Guidance for Journal contributors

The content of the Journal is multi-disciplinary, multi-national and multi-period in approach, as befits an organisation whose worldwide Fellowship is engaged in a very broad range of research based on the study of the material remains of the past – including all aspects of history, archaeology, art and architecture, conservation, heraldry, anthropological, ecclesiastical, documentary, musical, linguistic study and landscape study.

This diversity of coverage is a primary strength of the Journal, and is borne of the conviction that connections and insights often result from reading about research in another field than one’s own. For this reason, the Journal seeks a balanced mix of papers in each volume, covering all periods, from prehistory to the present day, and crossing disciplinary boundaries to demonstrate the benefits of bringing different skills and approaches to bear on the chosen topic (for example, studies that deploy evidence based on both historical and archaeological evidence).

In particular, the Society looks for papers that take an overview of a particular period, issue or set of problems, that are based on primary research, that do not simply describe the material remains of the past, but seek to throw light on their significance and meaning by setting them within relevant contexts, and that, in asking and answering questions of importance to the discipline, make a genuine contribution to the advancement of our knowledge in the relevant field of study.

As befits a Society that has been in existence for some 300 years and whose Fellows have helped to shape their evolving disciplines, the Journal is also interested in historicism (the placing of people, ideas and concepts within a historical context) and the development of antiquarian observation and thinking within the wider topic of the history of science and the humanities, as well as the extension of antiquarianism into the fields of public heritage policy, ethics and practice.

The Journal offers a variety of formats for the publication of short contributions of 3,000 words, or longer papers, typically of up to 10,000 words, or 28 printed pages, including illustrations, as well as long and short book reviews that can also be a platform for synthesis or original thought. With the advent of online publishing, we are also able to offer the capacity for publishing appendices and data sets that support research papers but that are too long for publication in the printed Journal.

The primary readership of the Journal is the Society’s Fellowship, but through library exchanges and institutional sales the Journal reaches a diverse international readership and its readers range from academics actively involved in primary research to students and amateurs. The readers are, by definition, scholarly and well informed, but contributions need to be presented in such a way as to be accessible to those whose specialities lie in fields other than those of the author. Detailed guidance on the preparation of papers for publication and on house style (including the style for footnotes and bibliographies) can be found on the Society’s website.

All papers submitted to the Journal for consideration undergo a peer-review process, and might be referred back to the author for further work, and the editors of the Journal have a specific brief to rework material if necessary to ensure that published papers are lucid, succinct and grammatically and syntactically correct. Authors are asked to check papers once edited to ensure that factual errors have not been introduced through this editorial process, but as some authors object to such an interventionist editorial policy, it is best to discuss any specific concerns before submitting material for publication.