Getting information on state historic properties and archaeological resources has become easier than ever with a new database launched by the Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology (DHPA) of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

According to a statement released on Monday, that database became available on the Internet on Friday.

People of all backgrounds will find the State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD) informative and helpful, said Indiana State Historic Preservation Officer Robert Carter Jr. “SHAARD offers us the potential to make all the information in these files on Indiana’s rich heritage available electronically to citizens, consultants, agency representatives, and scholars for the first time.”

DHPA will manage the database, which currently includes information on the Indiana Cemetery Registry, historic bridges, properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and historic theaters in Indiana. As funds become available, all information from the Indiana Survey of Historic Sites and Structures files will be added.

SHAARD was made possible with financial support from the Federal Highway Administration, the DNR, and the Historic Preservation Fund of the U.S. Department of Interior’s National Park Service.

The archaeological data contained in SHAARD were collected from previously conducted cultural resource inventories, National Register filings, research projects, and cultural resource management project reports. Eventually all of the archaeological survey information will be added to SHAARD as well.

Access to archaeological site locations and detailed site information is restricted and password protected but will be granted to qualified persons who meet the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualification Standards with a specialty in prehistoric, historic, or underwater archaeology or geomorphology. Such access will be granted to individuals, not to companies.

SHAARD has no GIS component but the DHPA hopes to add one in the future.

Users are encouraged to provide comments to the DHPA at SHAARDAdmin@dnr.IN.gov

 For more information, contact Karie Brudis, assistant director for environmental review at (317) 233-8941 or kbrudis@dnr.IN.gov

Posted 4/22/2008