diff --git a/docs/JOURNAL.md b/docs/journal-archive.md
similarity index 99%
rename from docs/JOURNAL.md
rename to docs/journal-archive.md
index d728553..038b60a 100644
--- a/docs/JOURNAL.md
+++ b/docs/journal-archive.md
@@ -1,5 +1,10 @@
 # JOURNAL
 
+> **Status:** archived 2026-05-11. New iter journals live under
+> `docs/journals/`. See `docs/journals/INDEX.md` for the
+> chronological pointer list. This file remains the historical
+> record for entries prior to that date.
+
 Chronological notes for myself. Not every change; only decisions, obstacles,
 and observations that future iterations will need.
 
diff --git a/docs/journals/INDEX.md b/docs/journals/INDEX.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..22769f6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/journals/INDEX.md
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+# Journal index
+
+> Chronological pointer list of per-iter journal files. Append-only.
+> One line per iter, newest at the bottom. Filenames are relative to
+> `docs/journals/`.
+
+- pre-2026-05-11 — see `../journal-archive.md` for all prior history