The Archaeology of Britain: An introduction from ... - waughfamily.ca

The past in the present
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world is full of competing demands; change is the natural state of things and provides the engine
that drives society forward. Change is the process by which archaeological deposits are both
created and destroyed, and the context in which choices, sometimes very difficult choices, have
to be made: do we keep this Roman villa or construct a new wing for the local hospital?
It would be nice to think that everything can be preserved, but that is Utopian. The concept
of management in archaeology is all about managing change—the contrived regulation of situations
for the fulfilment of defined objectives. These objectives flow from the general guiding principles
of archaeological resource management already noted, and can be summarized as follows:
• To retain the rich diversity of archaeological remains that is known to exist in the landscape.
• To make the archaeological heritage satisfy the demands made upon it by society as a whole.
• To reconcile conflict and competition for the use of land containing ancient monuments.
In addition to its intellectual context, archaeological resource management must also fit within
the legislative frameworks that relate both to its practice and to the materials with which it is
concerned. As already noted, the scope and range of legislative controls is itself a reflection of
society’s interest and concern for the past (Figure 17.4). Today, legislative controls for archaeology
fall into two main spheres: firstly, planning and environmental legislation; and, secondly, ancient
monuments legislation (Ross 1991). All find expression at three main levels—international, national
and local.
Planning and environmental legislation
The key concept here is that of ‘development’, which in Britain is taken to mean: ‘the carrying
out of building, engineering, mining or other operations in, on, over or under land, or the making
of any material change in the use of any buildings or other land’ (Town and Country Planning Act
1990 S55(1)). All development is regulated in two main ways, through strategic planning and
development control.
Strategic planning takes place at
a regional and local level through
the construction, debate and
agreement of development plans
for a specific area (e.g. a town,
district or county). The confirmed
plans set out the framework within
which development will take place,
and include projections of future
needs and a means of achieving
those needs through the allocation
of land for such things as house
building, mineral extraction, waste
disposal, road construction, energy
supply, recreational provision and
so on. Included in the scheme
should be a detailed consideration
of the expected impact on
archaeological remains and how
such impacts can be minimized
through the careful selection of
allocated land.
Figure 17.4 Diagram showing the relationship of different controls over
developments impacting on archaeological deposits. SMC=scheduled movement
consent procedure (see p. 307).
Source: Timothy Darvill