As long ago as 1994 Torsten Madsen warned that as we step 'into the steep road of electronic information, we should worry about one thing only, how do we ensure that what is electronic information today remains a stable and permanent source of information tomorrow as well'. This paper will consider the progress, or otherwise, that we have made in ensuring the stability and permanence of digital archaeological archives. To consider this topic the paper concentrates on the work of the Archaeology Data Service in the United Kingdom and of the ARENA project on a European scale.
The ARENA project is hosting a day workshop on the practical process of digital preservation and considering some of the issues surrounding this work. The author of this paper will be taking part in the ARENA workshop and will then present a 'school report' on the current state of preservation work for digital archaeological archives.
Key words: ARENA, Digital, Archives, Archaeological, Preservation