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Taylor & Francis

Prepare your manuscript for Journal of the British Archaeological Association.

Review the checklist, choose your article type, and turn your draft into a cleaner submission package.

Checked 2026-08-02
Check readiness freePrepare this manuscript

Article types

Review
Original Article
Editorial
Clinical Trial
Protocol
Research Article
Letter
Perspective
Systematic Review
Lectio

Readiness requirements

Review the key details below, or download the complete checklist with every stored source-backed requirement.

Abstract length

  • Provide an author-written abstract of no more than 200 words.
  • Use a unstructured abstract.
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  • A typical paper for this journal should be 7000-9000 words, inclusive of the abstract, tables, references, figure captions, endnotes.
  • Should contain an unstructured abstract of 200 words.
  • Abstract Papers should be preceded by a short abstract, in italics, of no more than 200 words and a list of between five and seven keywords.
  • Your abstract should focus on what your research is about, what methods have been used, and what you found out.
  • The instructions for authors for each journal will give specific guidelines on what’s required here, including whether it should be a structured abstract or graphical abstract, and any word limits.

Keywords

  • Include or confirm the keywords required by the journal. Articlo checks this item and flags anything that still needs author input.

Reference style

  • Articlo formats your supplied references to the journal's stored style and checks that citations match the reference list; source validity is not verified.
  • Full page spans must be given: citations of the form ‘202 et seq.’ or ‘202 sqq.’ are not permissible.
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  • For references in the text either spell out the words in the text, e.g., ‘as shown in Figure 1’, or use parentheses: ‘(Fig.1)’ or ‘(Figs 4 and 5)’.
  • Readers should be able to interpret the table without reference to the text.
  • Particular attention should be given to the form of references, and for general conventions authors should consult a recent copy of the Journal.
  • Architectural Terms To avoid inconsistencies, reference should be made to J.
  • References should be formatted using the automatic endnote facility of a word-processing programme.
  • Any form of the Harvard system using author and a date is not acceptable, and the References section should not be prefaced with a list of abbreviated titles.
  • If possible, a reference should not begin with an abbreviation that is normally printed in lower-case characters (for example, ‘e.g.’, ‘i.e.’, ‘ibid.’).
  • Where the citation of a title page as printed is likely to be unclear, a colon should be inserted, e.g., T.
  • Please note that all references to the Rolls Series volumes must be in this form.
  • Subsequent references to the same manuscript should consist of a shortened form of the library’s name, the manuscript number, and a folio reference.
  • Place-names For running text and citations of place of publication, current English forms for foreign or other non-English place-names should be used, e.g., Cologne not Köln, Rhine not Rhein.
  • They are meant to provide references to the text and should not be used either to expand discussions or to give extensive descriptions or arguments that are not entirely relevant to the article.
  • Please note that all references to books and articles after the first reference should use the author’s surname, followed by an intelligible shortened (preferably single-word) form of the title.
  • The place and date of publication should be given in round brackets (parentheses), at the end of the reference, but before the citation of any specific volume or page number/span.
  • Citation of Works in Manuscript The first reference to a manuscript should include the city where the library it located, the name of library, the class of manuscript (where this is not indicated as part of the manuscript designation), the manuscript designation, and the folio number.
  • A declaration must be included within the submission stating: Confirmation the authors take full responsibility for the integrity of the whole content, including accuracy of references.

Figure and table rules

  • Keep every figure and table numbered, captioned, and cited in the manuscript. Keep figures embedded; Articlo also extracts numbered source files for the package.
  • Group figures at the end of the manuscript.
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  • Group tables at the end of the manuscript.
  • Figures should be high quality (1200 dpi for line art, 600 dpi for grayscale and 300 dpi for colour, at the correct size).
  • Please note that in expressing inclusive numbers falling within the same hundred, only the last two figures should be given, e.g., 13-15, 44-47, 104-08, 1933-39.
  • Authors wishing to have more than two illustrations per 1000 words should consult the editor.
  • Tables and figures Show clearly in your article text where the tables and figures should appear, for example, by writing [Table 1 near here].
  • Black and white illustrations need to be saved at a minimum input scanning resolution of 300 dpi for halftones, 600 dpi for simple line, 1200 dpi for fine line; colour illustrations should be supplied in CMYK, not RGB.
  • The file should be named with the a short form of the essay title and the figure number, e.g., ‘BecketrelicsFig7’. (To check the pixel numbers for any digital scan, right-click on the icon of the file, select ‘Properties’, and the click on the ‘Summary’ tab.).
  • Figures should be saved separately from the text.
  • Tables should present new information rather than duplicating what is in the text.
  • Contributors should email a copy of their article to the editor in MS Word.doc or.docx format, together with any illustrations.
  • Authors should also indicate a desired approximate size for each illustration.
  • All illustrations should be supplied in digital format, as TIFF or JPEG files.
  • Captions A list of captions to illustrations must be supplied together with the text in a separate Word document.
  • The abbreviation for Figure should be Fig., with a full capital F, and small capital I and G.
  • If acknowledgement other than that in the caption is required, this must be specified to the editor.
  • It’s very important that you have been given permission to use any tables or figures you are reproducing from another source before you submit.
  • Figures should be supplied in one of our preferred file formats: PS, JPEG, TIFF, or Microsoft Word (DOC or DOCX) files are acceptable for figures that have been drawn in Word.
  • Authors who wish to reproduce material from previously published sources or where the copyright is owned by a third party, such as sections of text, tables or images, must obtain written permission from the copyright holder (usually the publisher) and the author(s)/artists of the original material.
  • Numbers Numbers up to one hundred should be written out in full except where the result would be inelegant, or when the context is statistical, or when figures are being used for dates and units of measurement.
  • This should be a quarter page or third page for most illustrations, a half page for important illustrations, and very occasionally a full page for very important and detailed illustrations, particularly if these are plans.
  • Where the illustration is not that of the author, permission to reproduce must be obtained by the author, and the caption should include any relevant copyright or photographic acknowledgement.
  • Check the instructions for authors to see how you should supply tables and figures, whether at the end of the text or in separate files, and follow any guidance given on the submission system.
  • It is anticipated that virtually all illustrations, at least illustrations other than plans and line drawings, will be supplied digitally.

Funding statement

  • You should declare only the acquired funds and grants that are directly relevant to the work reported in your article; for example, This work was supported by the [Funding Agency #1] under Grant [number xxxx]; [Funding Agency #2] under Grant [number xxxx]; and [Funding Agency #3] under Grant [number xxxx].

Competing interests

  • Include or confirm the competing interests required by the journal. Articlo checks this item and flags anything that still needs author input.

Data availability statement

  • Include or confirm the data availability statement required by the journal. Articlo checks this item and flags anything that still needs author input.

Ethics statement

  • Include or confirm the ethics statement required by the journal. Articlo checks this item and flags anything that still needs author input.

Cover letter

  • Using Third-Party Material in your Paper You must obtain the necessary permission to reuse third-party material in your article.
  • If material from the author’s own published work is to be used, permission must still be obtained from that publisher.
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  • Copyright is required for use in all formats (including digital) and in perpetuity.
  • The use of short extracts of text and some other types of material is usually permitted, on a limited basis, for the purposes of criticism and review without securing formal permission.
  • If you wish to include any material in your paper for which you do not hold copyright, and which is not covered by this informal agreement, you will need to obtain written permission from the copyright owner prior to submission.
  • Copyright Contributing authors must transfer copyright in the work to the British Archaeological Association, in all forms and languages, and for the full period of copyright, so that all published articles carry the standard copyright line © The British Archaeological Association (with the year of publication).

Title page and author information

  • All authors of a manuscript should include their full name and affiliation on the cover page of the manuscript.
  • The author’s name should appear after the title, with their affiliation, if applicable.
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  • One author will need to be identified as the corresponding author, with their email address normally displayed in the article PDF (depending on the journal) and the online article.

Article structure and word limits

  • The journal will also consider Shorter Notices, which should not normally exceed 3500 words in length.
  • Authors of articles longer than 10,000 words should discuss the length of their work with the editor before submission.
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  • Specific dates should be cited, for example, as 16 May 1538.
  • Terminal dates should be given after a dash (en-rule), e.g., ‘1234-38’.
  • Regnal dates should be give (for example) as ‘Bishop Longchamp (1189-97)’, not ‘bishop from 1189 to 1197′.
  • Dates BC should be given as ’27 BC’, and dates AD as ‘AD 320’, without full points and in small capitals.
  • Use one size of one simple typeface (preferably Times New Roman in font size 12), and avoid centred and justified type.
  • Letter: If this cannot be avoided, the initial letter should be in upper case, e.g., 21.
  • For photographs (as distinct from scans) then the number of pixels is critical and we would recommend that images have a minimum of 2,500 pixels along the long side.
  • For practical purposes this means that if you are submitting images as jpgs, the properties should be at 2,500 x 1,800 pixels.
  • Margins Margins should be at least 2.5cm (1 inch).
  • These instructions will ensure we have everything required so your paper can move through peer review, production and publication smoothly.
  • Your research funder or your institution may require you to publish your article open access.
  • Use our APC finder to view the APC for this journal.
  • Queries Should you have any queries, please visit our Author Services website or contact us here.
  • Submission Articles for the Journal should be sent to the Editor, Dr John Munns – editor@thebaa.org.
  • Copy should be fully checked before submission, as the Association will not cover the cost of author corrections at proof stage.
  • If images are too large to send by email they should be sent via WeTransfer, Dropbox or similar, or by CD/USB stick if absolutely necessary.
  • A line giving the full source of the material should be included in the manuscript.
  • Any costs relating to this must be borne by contributors.
  • Titles Titles affixed to personal names should have initial capitals: ‘King Richard’, ‘Bishop Roger’.
  • Personal Names Spellings of major persons should be as cited in E.
  • Ecclesiastics should be cited in the forms used in the modern editions of Le Neve’s Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae.
  • Do not use ‘hard’ hyphens or ‘discretionary’ hyphens to improve word splits at line endings.
  • Some BAA conventions require the use of small capitals.
  • Note that for a letter to appear as a small cap, it must be typed in lower case before formatting.
  • Do not attempt to improve the presentation of your article by the use of multiple typefaces and type sizes.
  • En dashes should be used instead of hyphens in number spans (page spans, date spans, etc.).
  • Acknowledgements General acknowledgements should be placed in a separate headed paragraph at the end.
  • The place and date of publication should not be separated by a comma.
  • Where there is more than one place of publication, all places should be given.
  • Where a particular volume of a work is being cited, the volume number should appear in capital roman numerals: I, II, III, etc.
  • Issue numbers of journals should be given in Arabic numerals.
  • Part numbers of individual volumes should be given in lower-case Roman numerals: i, ii, iii, etc.
  • If this happens, the part number should be given in the form in which it occurs in the publication.
  • Exceptions: for Rolls Series and BAA Transactions, the series volume numbers should be given in Roman numerals, in small capitals.
  • Authors should submit illustrative material for their articles together with their texts.
  • If images for reproduction are not ready when the text is submitted, then authors should send a rough scan or low-resolution image for guidance.
  • Proofs must be returned within the timeframe specified by the editor.
  • A declaration must be included within the submission stating: Originality and accuracy of content has been confirmed by the authors.
  • Authors must provide full methodological details and adhere to relevant reporting guidelines where applicable.
  • Authors must retain the original and revised versions which must be shared upon request.
  • The PLSP guidelines for authors must be followed at all times.
  • Before you submit your article, make sure you’ve checked the instructions for authors for your chosen journal, so you are aware of everything required.
  • Most journals create image descriptions during the production process, but a minority may require authors to provide image descriptions.
  • Review: Running heads and received dates These aren’t required when submitting a manuscript for review.
  • Printed copies are not required.
  • Ordinals should be spelled out.
  • For other French place-names follow current usage, and note that place-names taken from saints’ names should be hyphenated, with Saint and Sainte spelled out in full, e.g., ‘Saint-Paul’.
  • Counties Counties, départements, Länder, regioni, etc. should be added after a place-name to avoid any confusion, e.g., Notre-Dame-de-Gravenchon (Seine-Maritime), Moulins-sur-Cephons (Indre).
  • Paragraphs should be left-justified.
  • Where a work is one in a series, the name of the series should be given in Roman after the title of the work, with the volume number in that series given in the form in which it appears in the work as published.
  • These items should be separated by commas.
  • Special characters If you are preparing your manuscript in Microsoft Word and your article contains special characters, accents, or diacritics, we recommend you follow these steps: European accents (Greek, Hebrew, or Cyrillic letters, or phonetic symbols): choose Times New Roman font from the dropdown menu in the “Insert symbol” window and insert the character you require.
  • Special characters If you are preparing your manuscript in Microsoft Word and your article contains special characters, accents, or diacritics, we recommend you follow these steps: Asian languages (such as Sanskrit, Korean, Chinese, or Japanese): choose Arial Unicode font from the dropdown menu in the “Insert symbol” window and insert the character you require.
  • Authors must observe the following guidelines and house rules when preparing their articles.
  • If you need to use subheadings, please apply the following conventions.
  • The BAA is a Registered Charity (no. 1014821) and a company limited by guarantee and registered in England, number 2747476.
  • Articles that do not conform to these guidelines may be sent back to authors for amendment.
  • Do not put an extra line-space between paragraphs.
  • Always type a space after initials in names, and do not put double spaces at the end of sentences.
  • If you are at the early stage of your research, you may also need to read how to start writing a journal manuscript.
  • Image descriptions are typically used by systems such as pronouncing screen readers to make images accessible to people that cannot read or see the object due to a visual disability.
  • Formatting Do not insert page breaks.

Reporting guidelines

  • Include or confirm the reporting guidelines required by the journal. Articlo checks this item and flags anything that still needs author input.

Preprints and prior publication

  • If you have shared an earlier version of your Author’s Original Manuscript on a preprint server, please be aware that anonymity cannot be guaranteed.

Artificial intelligence disclosure

  • Add or confirm the author-written Artificial intelligence statement; Articlo flags it if author input is still needed.
  • Please include a statement disclosing whether and how generative AI has been used in the research and manuscript preparation process.
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  • Use of AI tools as part of ethical research studies is permitted.
  • A declaration must be included within the submission stating: The name and version number of the AI tool used.
  • Systematic Review: Use of AI tools as part of ethically conducted literature reviews, systematic reviews, meta-analysis and bibliometrics studies is permitted.
  • Use of AI tool assisted plain language summaries (PLS) of authors own work is permitted.
  • Please read our guidance on using AI tools in your research and manuscript preparation to understand scenarios where their use may be permissible, and the required information that must be disclosed.
  • A declaration must be included within the submission stating: Confirmation the authors have checked terms of use for the specific AI tool used, and therefore confirm suitability for publication.

Article type and manuscript length

  • Structure Your paper should be compiled in the following order: title; author name and affiliation (if any); abstract; keywords; main text; acknowledgements; declaration of interest statement; references; appendices (as appropriate); table(s) with caption(s) (on individual pages); figures; figure captions (as a list).

Language and text style

  • Please use British (-ize) spelling style consistently throughout your manuscript.
  • Please use single quotation marks, except where ‘a quotation is “within” a quotation’.
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  • Please note that long quotations should be indented without quotation marks.
  • Use the smart quotation marks available on your computer (see Formatting below).
  • In the case of Lyons, Marseilles, Rheims, the English forms rather than the French forms (Lyon, Marseille, Reims) should be used.
  • The title of a book should appear in italics.
  • The edition number (abbreviation ‘edn’) should be given, where appropriate, before the place and date of publication.
  • The number of volumes (abbreviation ‘vols’) should be given, where appropriate, before the place and date of publication, and after any edition number.
  • Recto and verso should be specified in all instances, and the abbreviations MS, MSS, fol., fols, should be used.
  • Headings This will show you the different levels of the heading section in your article: Fourth-level headings should be in bold italics, at the beginning of a paragraph.
  • Headings This will show you the different levels of the heading section in your article: Fifth-level headings should be in italics, at the beginning of a paragraph.
  • Use the standard quotation mark key on the keyboard as appropriate, with the ‘smart quotes’ function switched on. (In Word this can be found by selecting Format > AutoFormat > Options, and then clicking on the ‘AutoFormat’ tab.).
  • Headings This will show you the different levels of the heading section in your article: Second-level headings should be in bold italics, with an initial capital letter for any proper nouns.
  • Headings This will show you the different levels of the heading section in your article: Third-level headings should be in italics, with an initial capital letter for any proper nouns.

Manuscript structure

  • Headings The title should appear in bold Roman type, using upper and lower case, ranged left.
  • Hard returns should be used only at the ends of paragraphs, after headings, or in lists and verse where definite line breaks are required.
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  • The heading should be centred and in capitals.
  • Endnotes should be kept to a scholarly minimum.
  • Authors must retain full records of the methods undertaken, including full descriptions and records of the prompts used, which must be shared with the journal upon request.
  • Headings This will show you the different levels of the heading section in your article: First-level headings (e.g. Introduction, Conclusion) should be in bold, with an initial capital letter for any proper nouns.

Study reporting guidelines

  • Authors must provide full methodological details and adhere to relevant reporting guidelines where applicable (e.g. CONSORT-AI, STARD-AI, GAMER, TRIPOD-AI, etc).
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What your package checks

Abstract: 200 words
Paper: 9,000 words
Declarations: Acknowledgements, Artificial intelligence
Format: Times New Roman

Source transparency

This preparation guide uses published journal-specific author requirements. Journal instructions can change, so authors should complete a final review before submission.

Open official guideline source