96 lines
9.6 KiB
XML
Executable File
96 lines
9.6 KiB
XML
Executable File
<?xml version="1.0"?>
|
|
<cms:item xmlns:cms="http://www.arsdigita.com/cms/1.0" xmlns="http://www.esd.org.uk/standards/esdbody" oid="[com.arsdigita.cms.contenttypes.ESDService:{id=618}]"><cms:name>batch-4-618</cms:name><cms:language>en</cms:language><cms:title>Archaeological consultancy</cms:title><cms:dublinCore oid="[com.arsdigita.london.cms.dublin.DublinCoreItem:{id=618}]"><cms:name>batch-4-618-dublin-metadata</cms:name><cms:dcAudience>General Public</cms:dcAudience><cms:dcCoverage>content="99XX" scheme="ONS SNAC"</cms:dcCoverage><cms:dcCoveragePostcode/><cms:dcCoverageSpatialRef/><cms:dcCoverageUnit/><cms:dcDateValid/><cms:dcDisposalReview/><cms:dcLanguage>en</cms:dcLanguage><cms:dcTemporalBegin/><cms:dcTemporalEnd/><cms:dcCreatorOwner>LAWS Project - Starter Kit - http://www.laws-project.org.uk</cms:dcCreatorOwner><cms:dcCreatorContact>LAWS Project - Starter Kit - http://www.laws-project.org.uk</cms:dcCreatorContact><cms:dcPublisher>Tameside MBC - LAWS project - http://laws.tameside.gov.uk</cms:dcPublisher><cms:dcRights/><cms:dcKeywords>archaeological, consultancy</cms:dcKeywords></cms:dublinCore><cms:textAsset oid="[com.arsdigita.cms.TextAsset:{id=618}]"><cms:content><![CDATA[<h2>Environmental Services</h2><span class="gen">email address here</span><span class="gen">phone number here</span><span class="gen">sms phone number here</span><span class="gen">fax number here</span><span class="gen">minicom number here</span><p><i>The Importance Of Archaeology</i></p><hr/><p>Archaeological remains are irreplaceable. They are evidence - for prehistoric periods,
|
|
the only evidence - of the past development of our civilization.</p><p>Today's archaeological landscape is the product of human activity over thousands
|
|
of years. It ranges through settlements and remains of every period, from the camps
|
|
of the early hunter gatherers 400,000 years ago to remains of early 20th century
|
|
activities. It includes places of worship, defence installations, burial grounds,
|
|
farms and fields, and sites of manufacture.</p><p>These remains vary enormously in their state of preservation and in the extent
|
|
of their appeal to the public. "Upstanding" remains are familiar enough
|
|
- the great stone circles, the castle and abbey ruins of the Middle Ages or abandoned
|
|
coastal defence systems. But less obvious archaeological remains, such as ancient
|
|
settlements and field systems, are also to be found across large parts of the country.
|
|
Some prehistoric sites in wetland areas contain important wood and organic remains.
|
|
Many buildings in older towns lie on top of Roman, Anglo-Saxon or medieval structures.</p><p> Archaeological remains should be seen as a finite and non-renewable resource,
|
|
in many cases highly fragile and vulnerable to damage and destruction. Appropriate
|
|
management is therefore essential to ensure that they survive in good condition.
|
|
In particular, care must be taken to ensure that archaeological remains are not
|
|
needlessly or thoughtlessly destroyed. They can contain irreplaceable information
|
|
about our past and the potential for an increase in future knowledge. They are part
|
|
of our sense of national identity and are valuable both for their own sake and for
|
|
their role in education, leisure and tourism.</p><p>The present century has been a period of striking environmental change. Some changes,
|
|
like the erosion of coastal areas, have occurred naturally. But much archaeological
|
|
heritage has been destroyed by human activity - for example, by modern construction
|
|
methods in urban development and expansion of the road network, by modern agricultural
|
|
techniques (in particular deep ploughing or drainage of wetlands), and by mineral
|
|
extraction.</p><p>With the many demands of modern society, it is not always feasible to save all
|
|
archaeological remains. The key question is where and how to strike the right balance.
|
|
Where nationally important archaeological remains, whether scheduled or not, and
|
|
their settings, are affected by proposed development there should be a presumption
|
|
in favour of their physical preservation. Cases involving archaeological remains
|
|
of lesser importance will not always be so clear cut and planning authorities will
|
|
need to weigh the relative importance of archaeology against other factors including
|
|
the need for the proposed development. Regardless of the circumstances, taking decisions
|
|
is much easier if any archaeological aspects of a development site can be considered
|
|
early on in the planning and development control process. This is discussed in Section
|
|
B.</p><p>Archaeological records for England currently contain around 600,000 sites and monuments.
|
|
Some 13,000 nationally important cases enjoy special protection as "scheduled
|
|
monuments", under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.
|
|
English Heritage have embarked on a survey programme which is expected to result
|
|
in significant additional numbers being given this statutory protection (see Annex
|
|
3).</p><p>Scheduling archaeological remains ensures that the case for preservation is fully
|
|
considered given any proposals for development or other work which might damage
|
|
the monument. The planning system is equally in a position to consider the desirability
|
|
of preserving archaeological remains. Much can be achieved within the wider planning
|
|
process when developers are prepared to enter into discussions with archaeologists
|
|
and consider fully the needs of archaeology. This voluntary approach to considering
|
|
the needs of archaeology is a well-established and growing practice and has been
|
|
formalized in Codes of Practice by the British Archaeologists' and Developers' Liaison
|
|
Group (BADLG), and the
|
|
<a href="http://www.cbi.org.uk/home.html">
|
|
<strong>Confederation
|
|
of British Industry (CBI)</strong>
|
|
</a>
|
|
<span class="gen">link to external website</span> Code for Mineral Operators.</p><p>Archaeological issues are often important in minerals planning, particularly in
|
|
the extraction of sand and gravel. River valleys have provided an attractive place
|
|
for man to settle but at the same time these areas often contain valuable sand and
|
|
gravel resources. Minerals can clearly only be worked where they are found so they
|
|
often differ from other forms of development in that there is not the same flexibility
|
|
of choice of location. The CBI's revised Code of Practice for Mineral Operators
|
|
on archaeological investigations provides advice on how minerals operators should
|
|
consult archaeological interests in formulating planning applications, to ensure
|
|
that archaeological factors are fully taken into account in the planning decision
|
|
process.</p><p>The key to informed and reasonable planning decisions, as emphasised in paragraphs
|
|
19 and 20, is for consideration to be given early, before formal planning applications
|
|
are made, to the question whether archaeological remains exist on a site where development
|
|
is planned and the implications for the development proposal. When important remains
|
|
are known to exist or when archaeologists have good reason to believe that important
|
|
remains exist, developers will be able to help by preparing sympathetic designs
|
|
using, for example, foundations which avoid disturbing the remains altogether or
|
|
minimise damage by raising ground levels under a proposed new structure, or by the
|
|
careful siting of landscaped or open areas. There are techniques available for sealing
|
|
archaeological remains underneath buildings or landscaping, thus securing their
|
|
preservation for the future even though they remain inaccessible for the time being.</p><p>If physical preservation in situ is not feasible, an <strong>
|
|
|
|
<a href="/ccm/services/pid.jsp?pid=619">archaeological
|
|
excavation</a>
|
|
</strong>
|
|
<span class="gen">link to pid 619</span> for the purposes of 'preservation by record', may be an acceptable
|
|
alternative. From the archaeological point of view this should be regarded as a
|
|
second best option. The science of archaeology is developing rapidly. Excavation
|
|
means the total destruction of evidence (apart from removable artefacts) from which
|
|
future techniques could almost certainly extract more information than is currently
|
|
possible. Excavation is also expensive and time-consuming, and discoveries may have
|
|
to be evaluated in a hurry against an inadequate research framework. The preservation
|
|
in situ of important archaeological remains is therefore nearly always to be preferred.</p><p>Positive planning and management can help to bring about sensible solutions to
|
|
the treatment of sites with archaeological remains and reduce the areas of potential
|
|
conflict between development and preservation. Both central government and English
|
|
Heritage have important roles to play. But the key to the future of the great majority
|
|
of archaeological sites and historic landscapes lies with local authorities, acting
|
|
within the framework set by central government, in their various capacities as planning,
|
|
education and recreational authorities, as well as with the owners of sites themselves.
|
|
Appropriate planning policies in development plans and their implementation through
|
|
development control will be especially important.</p><span class="gen">email address here</span><span class="gen">phone number here</span><span class="gen">sms phone number here</span><span class="gen">fax number here</span><span class="gen">minicom number here</span><span class="gen">postal address here</span><h3>
|
|
<a href="/ccm/services/pid.jsp?pid=618"> Providing Information
|
|
(618)
|
|
</a></h3>]]></cms:content></cms:textAsset></cms:item>
|