If you’re in a Planning Department and you’re going to let a utility company dig up a probable archaeological site without making provision for an archaeological watching brief, it’s best not to do it at the end of the street in which the Director of the Council for British Archaeology lives. The danger being, he might trudge home after a long, hot day in the office and spot some pottery and the fragments of a Roman era leg bone and a jawbone with teeth in it lying on a pile of soil… Which is exactly the nightmare that happened recently up in in York !
Dr Heyworth said the incident shows up the “black holes” that are appearing in local authority archaeology services, with planners taking decisions without any specialist advice. He notified both the police to inform them that human remains had been discovered and the local authority, and work has now been suspended while an archaeologist investigates the site.
The worrying aspect is that not every street has a Dr Heyworth living in it so it’s a moot point how many similar issues go unnoticed up and down the country. Coincidentally, EH has just revealed that the number of archaeological specialists in local authorities has declined by 9.5% in the past year. The full report is HERE.
The Heritage Journal 
6 comments
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06/08/2014 at 08:21
calmgrove
I’ve ‘liked’ this post to show I’ve read it, but I don’t like the depressing details it contains.
06/08/2014 at 13:59
CBA LHEN
The full English Heritage/ALGAO/IHBC report on the numbers of archaeology and conservation specialists in Local Authorities is available here – http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/publications/sixth-report-la-staff-resources/?utm_source=Hootsuite&utm_medium=Hootsuite&utm_campaign=Hootsuite+Conversion It makes for depressing reading.
06/08/2014 at 14:11
heritageaction
Thanks. We’ll add that to the article.
06/08/2014 at 15:02
Womble
It shows just the tip of the iceberg. How much of this goes on daily across the country on building sites, roadworks, services etc must be mind boggling. For the company/person doing the digging, there is every incentive for them NOT to report something but to carry on regardless to meet deadlines.
06/08/2014 at 16:43
CBA LHEN
No problem, and thanks for the article – the loss of archaeological and conservation expertise in local authorities is an important, and increasingly worrying issue.
06/08/2014 at 18:59
Date Basing
I don’t know the details of this specific case but I do wonder of the cba are aware that the majority of utility works don’t go through planning and therefore no conditions can be attached. They are actually normally undertaken in accordance with their own act of parliament such as the electricity act 1989 and the gas act 1986. There is provision for archaeology within these acts but planning permission is not required and so conditions cannot be attached. This shouldn’t of happened but it is hardly the fault of the planners.