Welcome to the website of the UK Archival Thesaurus (UKAT). UKAT is a subject thesaurus which has been created for the archive sector in the United Kingdom. It is a controlled vocabulary which archives can use when indexing their collections and catalogues.

The key aims of UKAT are: to improve access to archives by subject; to ensure that users of archives can carry out effective subject searches of the national archives network; and to promote the involvement in archives by groups which are under-represented among archive users, by providing subject terms which reflect their histories and experiences.

UKAT was created between June 2003 and August 2004 from subject terms contributed by individual archives, archive projects and users of archives, as part of a project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. This website allows you to Search UKAT, browse UKAT By A-Z and By hierarchy, and Download files of UKAT data. Although the main editing phase of the project has ended, it is still possible to Register as a contributor and Login to submit terms via the website. Further information about UKAT is also provided. Please Contact us if you have questions or comments about the Thesaurus.