Guidelines

Accepted Paper Formats

In 2022 we expanded the range of manuscripts accepted for publication, in consideration of the types of contributes we received during these years. Currently, ARCHEOSTORIE® Journal of Public Archaeology accepts the following formats:

Accepted for the sections
Topic of the Year and Satura Lanx

Research Paper

What: Original research papers presenting full Introduction, methods, results, discussion and conclusion.

max. 6,500 words*

up to 10 images/graphs/charts**

Double-blind peer review

Accepted for the section
Satura Lanx

Short Paper

What: Brief reports/case studies from original research, proposing an in-depth view of a specific aspect.

max. 3,500 words*

up to 6 images/graphs/charts**

Double-blind peer review

Accepted for the section
Reviews

Review Article

What: articles discussing relevant books, conferences, exhibitions, documentaries, and video games.

max. 3,500 words*

needs approval from Editorial Board

Double Blind Peer Review

*abstract, acknowledgements, conflict of interest, data availability declaration and references excluded from the word count.

** tables excluded from the count.

Submitting your manuscript

  • Main contact details: your first and last name, affiliation, ORCID and the section to which you are submitting.
  • Paper submission details: title, authors and affiliation, abstract (max 150 words), 5 relevant keywords.
  • Dataset specifics: if you are releasing a dataset related to your article, you will be asked about the way in which it will be distributed. We recommend having a look at the Policies and Ethics page.
  • Files Upload: since google forms allow uploading a max. no. of 10 files per submission, we recommend wrapping up all the files in a unique zip folder.

The submission of manuscripts happens through the thematic google form, which you can access reach by clicking submit in the top menu. In this first phase you will be asked for:

Submissions are admitted only in clear English. Any professional translation service shall be borne by the author. All types of contribution must be uploaded in open text format (DOCX, ODT). Please do not include illustrations and graphic files into the text file but keep them in a folder with the captions file.

Manuscript Elements

Text features

The font used on the file should be sans-serif, at least 12 pt for the body and 18 pt bold for the titles, with an overall line-height 1.5. There are no other specific format requirements: just make sure that the piece has a good readability on screen.

  • Paper title/paragraph titles: no capital letters except for the first word;
  • Latin, foreign words, titles of exhibitions, plays, artworks, project titles, etc. must be italicized;
  • Use em (long) dashes to mark off information that are not essential to an understanding of the sentence (e.g., many sites—like the one we cited before—haven’t been investigated yet.);
  • Use en dashes for hyphens (e.g., cold-blooded);
  • The first word after a colon must begin with a capital letter;
  • Special meaning of some words requires their inclusion between single quotes ‘…’;
  • Short quotations and block quotations must be within quotation marks “…”. If a quotation or a ‘special meaning’ word (e.g., with both ‘ and “) ends with a punctuation mark, the quotation mark follows the punctuation one (e.g., he said “I love it.”);
  • Dates must be expressed as follows:
    • Month day(st/nd/rd/th) year (e.g., March 26th 2010).
    • Years, centuries and millennia must be followed by BC/AD (e.g., 4th century BC).
    • Couple of years must be expressed as follows: 1994-95;
  • Decimal numbers must be expressed separated by full stop (e.g., 3.4 km), while a comma is required for a thousand units (e.g., 11,000). The unit of measurement must be separated from the number by a space (e.g., 5×7.2 m);
  • Square meters must be expressed as follows: sq. m / sq. km;
  • Percentages must be expressed as follows: 35%.
  • Please always use internationally accepted signs and symbols for units (IS units).

Images, tables and graphs

All images (photographs, diagrams, maps, …) should be numbered sequentially using Arabic numerals. Each must have a caption and source, that should be submitted in a separate text file. Maps and plans must include scale and north point.

Tables and graphs must be provided in an editable raw text or vector format (e.g., CSV, TXT, XLS, DOCX, AI, PSD, PDF etc.) to facilitate the paper formatting process. Accepted file formats for images are JPEG, PNG or PDF; each file should have a maximum weight of 5 Mb, its dimension must be at least 640×480 px, with 300 dpi or higher.

Please consider that in the downloadable version of the paper fits the ISO format 216 (A4). If the images contains some text, make sure that the font size is adequate to a good reading.

Captions

Within the text, figures and tables should be written as entire words and with capital letter, and referred to by number (e.g., Figure 1; Table 1); in captions use abbreviations (e.g. Fig. 1; Tab. 1). Preferred position, sizing, and groupings of in-text tables/images can be indicated within the manuscript (placeholders). Captions must follow the examples below:

Reference to in-text figure/table(Figure 1) (Table 1)
(Figures 2-5) (Tables 2-5)
Figure/Table captionFig. 1. or Tab. 1. The circular argument on which many
traditional approaches to ethnicity were built.
Figure/Table caption with referenceFig. 8. or Tab. 8. Cross in gold sheet from Novara Cathedral
(from Menghin 1977, p. 58, fig. 8)

Authors must clear reproduction rights for any photo or illustration credited to a third party that they wish to use – see the section on Reproduction Rights and Permissions for Third-Party Materials.

In-Text References and Bibliography

The citation system used in this journal is a variant of the Harvard European Archaeology style. Cited publications are referred to in-text by giving the author’s surname and the year of publication, and should be listed in bibliography at the end of the text. Only the sources cited in paper body must appear in bibliography (1:1). Please make sure that the sources are in alphabetical order and that they respect the format prescriptions.

In-Text References

Two or three authors or authoring bodies

When citing a work by two or three authors or authoring bodies, cite the names in the order as they appear on the title page: (Moshenska & Dhanjal 2011) | (Chadwick-Furman, Goffredo & Loya 2000).

More than three authors or authoring bodies

When citing a work by more than three authors or authoring bodies, use the first author’s name followed by the abbreviation ‘et al.’: (Bromblet et al. 2014, pp. 2-3).

Two or more works cited at one point in the text

If two or more works by different authors or authoring bodies are cited at one point in the text, use a semi-colon to separate them: (Larsen 2000; Malinowski 1999). The authors should be listed in alphabetical order.

Full-paragraph citation

For citations of a paragraph or a specific page of a work, the page number should be given after the year in parentheses:(Reynolds 1996, p. 81). For citations comprising more than a page of a work, the page range should be given after the year in parentheses, adding a ‘p’: (Larsen 2000, pp. 35-36).

End-Text References

Acknowledgements

This optional section is where the author might thank those who have helped the research (e.g.special equipment or materials) and writing process (including editing). It follows the Conclusion section. Use this section to provide information about eventual funding, by referring to specific grant or contribution numbers.

Please keep any acknowledgements concise (max. 150-200 words), avoiding any reference to editors, reviewers and co-authors. The usage of first person is allowed. 

Conflict of interest

A ‘conflict of interest’ may occur when authors or co-authors share a legal, financial, professional or commercial linkage with other organizations that could influence their research. 

Whether the conflict of interest exists or not, full disclosure is needed when submitting a paper to AJPA. The disclosure is proof of a transparent process and helps readers form their own judgments of potential bias. Please, include this disclosure at the end of your manuscript after any Acknowledgements under the heading ‘Declaration of Conflicting Interest’. AJPA will take into account the conflicting interests to inform the publication or the refusal of the manuscript.

Templates

Authors are responsible for the correctness of the statement.

  • The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
  • Author {A} is a consultant to company {Z}; Author {B} is an unpaid member of committee {Y}.

Data Availability Statement

A Data Availability Statement (DAS) needs to be incorporated at the end of each short paper or research paper informing the reader about the presence or absence of shared data. 

This statement will need to describe:

  • if there are data available;
  • how the data can be accessed;
  • where the data is stored (which repository/ as supplement);
  • eventually include a persistent identifier provided by the repository (e.g., a DOI or an accession number).

Below follows the list of the potential options:

  • Directly available. Data can be partially or fully shared. In case of derivation from another public domain repository, the original dataset references must be included. 
  • Available on demand. Data can be partially or fully shared – partial sharing requires explanation (e.g. reason of the restriction). In case of derivation from another public domain repository, the original dataset references must be included.
  • Not available. The data are not available as the author decided not to share them, or they are subject to third-party, ethical or commercial reasons.
  • No dataset. The paper did not generate any new data, or no dataset was analysed in the piece.

Templates

Direct Availability

  • The data/dataset supporting this piece are partially/fully available in {repository name} at {DOI/identifier}, ref. no. {reference number – if applicable}.
  • The data/dataset supporting this piece are partially/fully available in {repository name} at {DOI/identifier/URL}, {reference number – if applicable}. These data were derived from the following resources: {list with dataset name and DOI/identifier/URL}.
  • The data/dataset supporting this piece are partially/fully included in the supplementary materials at {AJPA URL}.

On-Demand Availability

  • The data/dataset supporting this piece are available through request from {the corresponding author/other}. The data are not publicly available for {reason}.
  • The data/dataset supporting this piece are available through request from {the corresponding author/other} and with the permission of {third-party}. Restrictions apply to the availability of these data {which}.

Not Available

  • The data/dataset supporting this piece are not available right now, following an embargo from the date of publication to allow for {reason}.
  • The data/dataset supporting this piece are not available for {reason}.

No Dataset

  • There is no data/dataset supporting this piece.