FAME has raised concern about plans to end the Sandwell Archaeology Service:
Author: Doug Rocks-Macqueen
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Kent Archaeological Resource Centre
FAME’s response to the proposal for a Kent Archaeological Resource Centre:
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FAME responds to threat to Tees Archaeology
FAME has learned that Middlesbrough Council is considering withdrawing its funding from Tees Archaeology, the service which maintains the Historic Environment Record and provides planning advice to the four unitary authorities of Middlesbrough, Redcar & Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees. FAME has written to the four local authorities urging them to continue funding the service. The full content of the letters may be viewed here:
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Presentations from ‘Trouble in Store’
This year’s FAME Forum ‘Trouble in Store’ addressed the critical issue of archaeological archives. Given the massive expansion in development-led archaeology in the UK, how are they are to be collected, deposited, stored and used in the future? Over a hundred delegates from FAME, SMA, ALGAO and other organisations attended the event, which was once again held in the magnificent surroundings of the Merchant Taylors Hall in York.
Archaeological practices and the archives crisis – why the time is right for change
Roland Smith, Regional Manager, Cotswold Archaeology
There has been an impending crisis with archaeological archives for several years. For many developer-funded practices that crisis has well and truly arrived. Many now hold substantial volumes of archives with no available museum or store able to receive them. Anecdotally museum storage capacity is worsening, with little prospect of new facilities opening in the foreseeable future. All indicators point to the need for a radical review of all aspects of archive preparation and deposition that does not diminish their importance as valuable assets but accepts the need for significant change. This presentation sets out the perspective of historic environment practices and makes some proposals for change.
Digital Archives: light at the end of the tunnel?
Catherine Hardman Deputy Director (Collections), Archaeology Data service
This paper will describe two recent ADS partnerships in digital archiving. The first, with Southampton Arts and Heritage, requires all fieldwork archives in the city to be deposited with ADS, who then provide long-term archiving and ensure that digital fieldwork data can be made available to the widest possible audience. The second, with Wessex Archaeology and with museums and historic environment services in Hampshire and Wiltshire, has used digital photography as the sole photographic fieldwork record, and led to the creation of an ADS digital photographic archive service, with online access to digital images through OASIS.
Allocation and preservation of archaeological material: a Scottish perspective
Stuart Campbell, Treasure Trove Unit, National Museums Scotland
In Scotland the same laws which deal with chance finds and Treasure Trove also apply to excavation assemblages, with the result that there is a clear procedure which allocates assemblages to museums. Nevertheless, these procedures have simply brought clarity to the same problem that applies elsewhere in the UK, that many museums are reluctant to accept excavated material. The paper will discuss this problem from all perspectives and highlight an increasing dissonance between the requirements of the museums sector and the requirements of applied archaeology and the planning process.
Preservation by broken record
David Allen, Keeper of Archaeology, Hampshire County Museums Service and Chair, SMA
There’s no doubt that the archaeological profession, all corners of it, has a clear idea of what it is trying to achieve in retrieving information and presenting it, at many different levels. There’s less certainty, however, about the archiving process, despite numerous first class surveys and statements which constantly remind us of what we should be doing. This contribution will (once again) look at the issues from a Museum Curator’s perspective and explore yet more ways to liaise, as well as showing that there are jewels to be found in a ‘back catalogue’.
Making archives work: who owns the process?
Quinton Carroll, Historic Environment Team Manager, Cambridgeshire County Council, and Chair, Archaeological Archives Forum
Archaeological archives are in danger of becoming the ‘elephant in the room’ of British archaeology. We all know they are there, and are becoming a problem of increasing proportions. However, there is reluctance in the profession to tackle it, or even sometimes to acknowledge it, although thankfully this is starting to change. The archive is only acknowledged at the very end of a long process that includes many individuals from different parts of the sector. How do we deal with this and, of all the parties in the process, who is best placed to ensure the best outcome?
The historic environment resource in store
Duncan Brown, Head of Archaeological Archives, English Heritage
The Society of Museum Archaeologists, in association with FAME and the AAF, is seeking funding from English Heritage to support a project that will establish the current extent of the crisis facing archaeological archives. The good news is that this initiative is recognised within the National Heritage Protection Programme as an important part of addressing capacity-loss in local authorities. This talk will outline the aims of the project and the NHPP context, while also looking ahead to future issues.
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Publication of the Southport Report: Realising the benefits of planning–led investigation in the historic environment: a framework for delivery
This week saw the launch of the eagerly-awaited report of the Southport Group, on the public benefits of development-led investigation of the historic environment. The report, based on extensive sector consultation, outlines recommendations for change and calls for sign-up from historic environment practitioners, developers and planners. To download a copy of the report, click here
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FAME response to Fenland District Council
Newly-installed Fenland District Council Leader Alan Melton has shocked the archaeological world with an announcement that conservation rules in the district are to be relaxed and pre-application archaeological evaluations no longer required. The full text of his speech can be viewed here. FAME has written to Councillor Melton, emphasising the importance of pre-application assessment, and the potential risk of costly delays and disruption should archaeological deposits be revealed once development is underway.
“Dear Councillor Melton
Fenland District Council and Archaeology
I am writing to you on behalf of the Federation of Archaeological Managers and Employers, which represents around 50 archaeological businesses providing advice and specialist services to commercial clients and developers throughout the UK.
We were concerned to read your comments last week on proposed changes in policy on archaeology and development in Fenland District.
Fenland contains some of the most significant and exceptionally-preserved archaeological deposits in the country and our members have been actively engaged in archaeological excavation, recording and publication within the district for many years.
The changes you suggest would of course have serious consequences for the archaeology of Fenland, those businesses who record and interpret it and those local residents and communities who benefit from it.
However, my reason for writing is to raise our particular concerns about its potential implications for our clients in both the public and private sector.
For the past two decades, central and local government planning policy has provided a clear and effective framework in which archaeological issues can be dealt with through the planning and development management process. This remains true of both current and proposed national planning guidance, and is reflected in Fenland District Council’s own development plan policies.
The fundamental principle underlying all this guidance is the necessity for the earliest possible assessment of archaeological significance – to provide greater certainty for applicants and developers before planning applications are determined, and to reduce the risk to them of costly delays and disruption once planning consent has been granted and development is underway.
This strategy of pre-determination survey is precisely the same as that which has proved so effective in assessing other environmental constraints, such as flood risk and hydrology, ground stability, land quality, ecology, access and transport.
In our extensive experience of advising commercial clients and developers throughout the UK, the greatest risk they face in relation to archaeology is not the cost of potentially unnecessary pre-application works, but the uncertainty of proceeding with development without first having assessed its likely archaeological impact. Whilst many business clients might well begrudge the cost of pre-application works, most will accept them as an essential risk-management measure.
We do not disagree with you that archaeological requirements must be reasonable and, as government planning guidance makes clear, proportionate to the significance of the archaeological remains. However our fear is that, far from promoting economic growth, a return to an era of eleventh-hour post-consent archaeological works could have potentially very costly and disruptive consequences for the development sector.”
cc Sandra Claxton, Chief Executive, Fenland District Council
Derek McKenzie, Head of Development Services, Fenland District Council
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FAME Forum 2011: speaker summaries
This year’s FAME Forum will be held in association with the Society of Museum Archaeologists, and will bring together speakers from both organisations and other leading figures to discuss how we can plan a more sustainable future for our archaeological archives. (more…)
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Trouble in Store: facing up to the archaeological archives crisis
This year’s FAME Forum will consider the growing crisis facing our archaeological archives. Such has been the growth in fieldwork since 1990 that overstretched museums in many parts of the country are refusing to accept any more archaeological archives. As a result, FAME members are storing a growing volume of excavated material which is undeposited and inaccessible.
- What is the extent of the problem?
- What are the hidden costs to FAME members?
- What is the research value and usage of archaeological archives?
- What are their public benefits, and how can they be increased?
- Whose responsibility is it to ensure they are properly stored and cared for?
- Should we make greater use of digital technology?
- Should we be more selective in what we retain from excavations?
Held in association with the Society of Museum Archaeologists, the Forum will bring together speakers from both organisations to discuss how we can plan a more sustainable future for our archaeological archives. Speakers will include Roland Smith, Catherine Hardman, Stuart Campbell, David Allen, Quinton Carroll and Duncan Brown.
The meeting will take place on Friday 1 July, at Merchant Taylors Hall, York. Admission is free to FAME and SMA members, and £50 to non-members, including lunch, morning coffee and afternoon tea. Advance booking is essential – for a booking form contact Hilda Young, 01722 343444, h.young@wessexarch.co.uk or click FAME Forum 2011.
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Job Losses in Archaeology, April 2011
The latest survey of Job Losses in Archaeology shows that the rate of job losses in the sector appears to have slowed, with business confidence showing very slight signs of recovery.
The survey, carried out by Landward Research Ltd on behalf of FAME and the IfA, covers the period January-April 2011.
It shows that in the first three months of 2011 the number of archaeologists in work increased very slightly to an estimated 5863 (800 fewer than the summer 2007 peak), though further job losses in local government curatorial services are expected.
Several businesses have ceased trading, with university-based companies being particularly vulnerable. Business confidence was poor through much of 2010, but there has been a slight recovery in the first quarter of this year.
For the eighth quarter in succession, the skills needed for invasive fieldwork were those most frequently being lost.
The full report may be viewed here.
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Recommendations for improving historic environment practice – the Southport Group seeks your views
The Southport Group has launched an online public consultation to gather opinion on a ground-breaking draft report that outlines recommendations and products for improving historic environment practice to ensure delivery of consistent excellence in public benefit.
The consultation officially launches at the IfA Conference on 13 April and runs until 3 June 2011. All content can be found on the Southport webpage.
The draft report considers key areas of planning-led investigation of the historic environment, identifies obstacles to optimum delivery in the past, presents a vision for new ways of working under PPS5 principles, and makes detailed practical recommendations to reach that vision. The impetus for change stems from the 2010 publication of Planning Policy Statement 5, which offers an extraordinary and rare opportunity for the historic environment sector to ensure its work is truly driven by the interests of what has been discovered or lost and that its overall purpose is the realisation of public benefit.
The consultation asks historic environment professionals to provide written feed-back on whether they endorse the report visions, recommendations and proposed products, and to suggest any changes or additional commendations/products before the June deadline. Comments will help to shape the final report due to launch in July 2011.
Organisations assigned with actions in the report recommendations will be approached over coming weeks and asked if they wish to endorse the visions and commit, insofar as resources allow, to the recommendations subject to any changes they propose. The intention is for key sector bodies to indicate, at the launch of the final report in July, their intention to implement the report’s recommendations.
This is the best opportunity for the sector and those it serves since 1990, and it could well be another 20 years before another chance like this comes along. Please do make this consultation count.
Comments on the report should be emailed to southport@archaeologists.net by 3 June.