diff --git a/ChangeLog.md b/ChangeLog.md
index eaa36b8..78edcaf 100644
--- a/ChangeLog.md
+++ b/ChangeLog.md
@@ -8,6 +8,12 @@
   ([#10](https://github.com/davep/gophermap/pull/10))
 - Added an optional strict mode (and, in doing so, added an exception back).
   ([#12](https://github.com/davep/gophermap/pull/12))
+- Added `has_error` instance property to the `GopherMap` class.
+  ([#13](https://github.com/davep/gophermap/pull/13))
+- Added `is_likely_a_map` as a class method.
+  ([#13](https://github.com/davep/gophermap/pull/13))
+- Added `is_likely_error` as a class method.
+  ([#13](https://github.com/davep/gophermap/pull/13))
 
 ## v0.2.0
 
diff --git a/src/gophermap/gopher_map.py b/src/gophermap/gopher_map.py
index 3e64ab7..89beb57 100644
--- a/src/gophermap/gopher_map.py
+++ b/src/gophermap/gopher_map.py
@@ -8,8 +8,9 @@
 
 ##############################################################################
 # Local imports.
-from .exceptions import EmptyMap
+from .exceptions import EmptyMap, GopherMapError
 from .item import GopherItem
+from .item_type import ItemType
 
 ##############################################################################
 EOF: Final[str] = "."
@@ -64,5 +65,53 @@ def items(self) -> tuple[GopherItem, ...]:
         """
         return tuple(self._parse_map(self._raw))
 
+    @cached_property
+    def has_error(self) -> bool:
+        """Whether the Gopher map contains an error item.
+
+        Raises:
+            EmptyMap: If the map is empty and strict mode is enabled.
+            NoFields: If the line is missing a tab character and strict mode is enabled.
+            UnknownItemType: If the item type is unknown and strict mode is enabled.
+
+        Note:
+            The mentioned exceptions will be raised on accessing this
+            property, if in strict mode. If you wish to check for errors
+            without raising exceptions, use the [`is_likely_error` class
+            method][gophermap.GopherMap.is_likely_error], to test instead.
+        """
+        return any(item.type is ItemType.ERROR for item in self.items)
+
+    @classmethod
+    def is_likely_a_map(cls, text: str) -> bool:
+        """Determine if the text is likely a valid Gopher map.
+
+        Args:
+            text: The text of the Gopher map.
+
+        Returns:
+            True if the text is likely a valid Gopher map, False otherwise.
+        """
+        try:
+            _ = cls(text, strict=True).items
+        except GopherMapError:
+            return False
+        return True
+
+    @classmethod
+    def is_likely_error(cls, text: str) -> bool:
+        """Determine if the text is likely a Gopher error message.
+
+        Args:
+            text: The text to test.
+
+        Returns:
+            True if the text is likely a Gopher error message, False otherwise.
+        """
+        try:
+            return cls(text, strict=True).has_error
+        except GopherMapError:
+            return False
+
 
 ### gopher_map.py ends here
diff --git a/tests/test_gopher_map.py b/tests/test_gopher_map.py
index 1741cfd..4f8a9d0 100644
--- a/tests/test_gopher_map.py
+++ b/tests/test_gopher_map.py
@@ -86,4 +86,58 @@ def test_strict_on_bad_map(test_map: str) -> None:
         _ = GopherMap(test_map, strict=True).items
 
 
+##############################################################################
+@mark.parametrize(
+    "test_map, expected",
+    [
+        ("iHello\tworld\tlocalhost\t70\r\n3Error\tworld\tlocalhost\t70\r\n.\r\n", True),
+        ("iHello\tworld\tlocalhost\t70\r\n.\r\n", False),
+        ("3Error\tworld\tlocalhost\t70\r\n.\r\n", True),
+        ("This is just some random test", False),
+        (".\r\n", False),
+        ("", False),
+    ],
+)
+def test_has_error(test_map: str, expected: bool) -> None:
+    """Test that has_error returns True if the map contains an error item."""
+    assert GopherMap(test_map).has_error is expected
+
+
+##############################################################################
+@mark.parametrize(
+    "test_map, expected",
+    [
+        ("", False),
+        ("iHello\tworld\tlocalhost\t70\r\n3Error\tworld\tlocalhost\t70\r\n.\r\n", True),
+        ("iHello\tworld\tlocalhost\t70\r\n.\r\n", True),
+        ("3Error\tworld\tlocalhost\t70\r\n.\r\n", True),
+        ("This is just some random test", False),
+        ("Hello\tworld\tlocalhost\t70\r\n.\r\n", False),
+        ("hello\tworld\tlocalhost\t70\r\n.\r\n", True),
+        (".\r\n", True),
+    ],
+)
+def test_is_likel_a_map(test_map: str, expected: bool) -> None:
+    """Test is_likely_a_map returns True if the map is likely a valid Gopher map."""
+    assert GopherMap.is_likely_a_map(test_map) is expected
+
+
+##############################################################################
+@mark.parametrize(
+    "test_map, expected",
+    [
+        ("iHello\tworld\tlocalhost\t70\r\n3Error\tworld\tlocalhost\t70\r\n.\r\n", True),
+        ("iHello\tworld\tlocalhost\t70\r\n.\r\n", False),
+        ("3Error\tworld\tlocalhost\t70\r\n.\r\n", True),
+        ("This is just some random test", False),
+        ("3. This is just some random test\r\n.\r\n", False),
+        (".\r\n", False),
+        ("", False),
+    ],
+)
+def test_is_likely_error(test_map: str, expected: bool) -> None:
+    """Test that is_likely_error returns True if the map contains an error item."""
+    assert GopherMap.is_likely_error(test_map) is expected
+
+
 ### test_gopher_map.py ends here