The Ashmolean Museum opened as Britain’s first public museum, and the world’s first university museum, in 1683. It is currently divided into five curatorial departments, each of which has its own archival holdings. The Ashmolean collection is in the process of being digitized.

The Department of Antiquities holds a rich collection of archival material mainly relating to the research of various British archaeologists and antiquarians These include the papers of Sir Arthur Evans, excavator of the Palace of Minos at Knossos, and his father, Sir John Evans, one of the leading prehistorians of the 19th century. The Antiquities archive collection also includes some material relating to the early history of the museum, although most of the administrative records of the institution are held by the Oxford University Archives.

Part of the Sir Arthur Evans Archive is available on Digital Bodleian.