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No.60 July 2004 | Contex HOME LECTURE REPORT The role of the Consultant within Archaeology Rupert Featherby Duncan Hawkins an archaeological consultant from CgMs spoke to us in April. The purpose of this lecture was to introduce the audience to the role of the consultant within archaeology. He explained that before 1990 and the introduction of the Planning Policy Guidance, commonly known as PPG16, archaeology was poorly funded, under-resourced and received little support from contractors in general. Archaeological units had little control over their excavations regarding timing or access and the requirements for sites to be investigated for archaeological remains were lax. The arrival of PPG16 tightened control and ensured that at all levels of government, both local and national planning; there is legislation and guidance to help protect archaeological remains. The creation of areas of archaeological interest such as the Peaks National Park and sites of archaeological interest such as Stonehenge has helped to protect many sites, showing contractors where their proposed development would most likely affect any archaeological sites. However, he pointed out that the implementation of the planning guidance depends upon the number of curators, the higher the ratio of curators to archaeology, the better protection it receives. Furthermore, it relies on the pro-active nature of the curators, the less active the less protection that might be provided for the archaeology. Of course, with this tightening came an increasing cost to an excavation. As contractors, naturally, wish to keep costs low, it is imperative that the potential for the survival of any and/or all archaeology is identified before any Intervention is carried out. The initial stage of this process is the desk-based assessment, which examines the history of the area, identifying previous sites or find spots to determine the archaeological potential of the area. Duncan said that this is an important stage and that a poor desk-based assessment could lead to unnecessary expense, delays and possibly missed archaeology. The example he gave was from a development around Ipswich here the desk-based assessment, being so poor, almost resulted in an important site being missed. He told us that the creation of a competitive excavation market has produced a bewildering choice of excavating units. Contractors, new and old, found themselves having to deal not only with more legislation but also with a greater choice of archaeological practitioners. He said that consultancy has developed to try to aid the process of an archaeological intervention whether it would result in an excavation or not. The role developed to provide the contractor with help in decision-making all the way through the process, for example whether excavation is necessary, which unit to use, etc. He also felt that they have aided the survival of archaeology by providing the curators with an extra pair of ears and eyes. Their close contact with contractors provides an early warning as to up and coming projects. Once a site has been identified the consultant aids in the creation of the specifications for dealing with the archaeology and helps to determine what type of archaeological intervention is carried out, evaluation, assessment etc. Of course, this must be in line with the relevant - county planning policy. The specifications can lead to tendering, which the consultant will often oversee. He also pointed out that the consultant is governed by the curator and like the contractor and archaeological unit, proceeds with an excavation following the guidelines of Management of Archaeological Projects. In essence, consultants have been styled as the oil that makes the machinery of the archaeological process run smoothly, helping contractors to avoid bottlenecks in the planning procedure. The consultant also aids in the creation of a publication by directing the contractor on the style that would be most appropriate to the excavation. As an example Duncan brought a publication by Wessex Archaeology of their excavations at Charter Quay, Kingston-upon- Thames. Duncan had had much input into this publication and felt that it was a good example of the "popular" nature more reports should take. |
