European Preventive Archaeology
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All over Europe the requirements of economic develop- European Preventive Archaeology ment are rapidly destroying many archaeological sites – the character of this destructive activity and the solutions adopted vary among different countries. The papers from sixteen countries: Belgium, Czech Republic, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ire- land, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Spain together with the European Association of Archae- European ologists cover the institutional and legislative background, provide statistical data and information on each country’s particular strengths and greatest problems in preventive archaeology, compare theory and practice, and explore Preventive forms of existing international cooperation, aspects where European-level cooperative activity is most required. Preventive archaeology is more than development-led archaeology, rescue or salvage excavation – it sees the ideal solution as leaving the archaeological heritage intact. Archaeology Suggestions and priorities are advanced on where future effort should be concentrated, firmly connected to the Council of Europe’s monitoring and observation activi- ties on the European Convention on the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage (Revised) Valletta, 1992. Papers of the EPAC meeting 2004, Vilnius European Preventive Archaeology European Preventive Archaeology Papers of the EPAC Meeting, Vilnius 2004 Edited by Katalin Bozóki-Ernyey National Office of Cultural Heritage, Hungary – Council of Europe The editor acknowledges the generous help of the Kancellária Kkt., Budapest in the support for the preparation of this book. © Editor and Contributors 2007 © Copy editor Judith Rasson 2007 First published by National Office of Cultural Heritage, Hungary Council of Europe, Directorate of Culture and Cultural and Natural Heritage All rights reserved. No part of this publication maybe reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the permission of the Publishers. CONTENTS Forward 9 Preface 10 Preventive Archaeology in Flanders (Belgium) 13 Luc Van Impe From Planning Application to the Final Report in the Czech Republic 19 Michal Bureš Development-led Archaeology in England 33 Roger M Thomas Preventive and Rescue Excavations in Estonia The Involvement of Private Companies 43 Ants Kraut Rescue Archaeology in Finland – Goals and Practices 50 Marianne Schauman-Lönnqvist Preventive Archaeology in France 57 Jean-Paul Demoule ‘Preventive Archaeology’ in Greece The Legislative and Institutional Background 65 Maria-Xeni Garezou Preventive Archaeology and Major Public Works in Greece 86 Haido Koukouli-Chrysanthaki Preventive Archaeology in Hungary One Step Behind 104 Katalin Bozóki-Ernyey Preventive Archaeology in Iceland 122 Thor Hjaltalin Rescue Excavation in Ireland – Roads and Codes 136 Pauline Gleeson The Approach to Preventive Archaeology in Italy 146 Roberto Maggi Preventive Archaeology in Luxembourg Legislation and Reality 155 Christiane Bis-Worch Rescue Archaeology in Poland Past and Present 161 Jerzy Ga¸ssowski Preventive Archaeological Research in Romania Legal Aspects and Results Dissemination 167 Irina Oberländer-Târnoveanu Preventive Archaeology and Archaeological Service in Slovenia 180 Bojan Djuric´ Preventive Archaeology In Spain 187 Belén Martínez Díaz – Alicia Castillo Mena The European Association of Archaeologists and Preventive Archaeology 209 Anthony Harding Summary of the Brain-Storming Session of the Conference 215 Contributors 217 FOREWORD The Council of Europe played a pioneering role in the integrated conser- vation of cultural heritage with the slogan “A Future for our Past”. From the late 1960s on, it worked in the specific field of archaeology, opening the European Convention on the Protection of Archaeological Heritage for signature on 6 May 1969. The convention, which was an innovative development in the historic context, stressed that “archaeological heritage is essential to a knowledge of the history of civilisations” and that “while the moral responsibility for protecting the European archaeological heritage, the earliest source of European history, which is seriously threatened with destruction, rests in the first instance with the State directly concerned, it is also the concern of European States jointly”. In the late 1980s, Europe’s economic boom and the spread of large-scale infrastructure works in urban and rural environments provided the incen- tive to put archaeological issues back in the context of integrated strategies for spatial planning and urban development. The Revised Convention, signed in Valletta on 16 January 1992, provides a coherent framework for the development of policies to enhance the archaeological heritage. This convention, which has now been widely ratified, is one of the successes of the Council of Europe’s cultural cooperation work. While many states have effective national systems for managing and protecting archaeological heritage, they rarely have an opportunity to share their experiences. The Vilnius colloquium brought together representatives of 18 countries and two international organisations involved in preventive archaeology. This fruitful meeting enabled them to compare national situ- ations, with their strengths and weaknesses, and discuss what could be improved through a European partnership. These colloquium proceedings provide an overview of the status of preven- tive archaeology through the presentations of a wide range of national experts. I am convinced that they will be really worthwhile and informative reading. The work done provides us with an incentive to strengthen Euro- pean cooperation in this area with the help of the European Heritage Net- work (the ‘Herein’ information system – www.european-heritage.coe.int), which is designed to facilitate joint work and the sharing of good practice. Daniel Thérond Deputy Director of the Directorate of Culture and Cultural and Natural Heritage, Council of Europe PREFACE Dear Reader! The volume that you hold in your hands contains the papers presented during the EPAC meeting in Vilnius on 16-18 December, 2004. EPAC is the acronym for the European Preventive Archaeology Project, born within the HEREIN, the European Heritage Network of the Coun- cil of Europe. EPAC was planned originally to be a three-year project initiated and organized by the National Office of Cultural Heritage (Hun- gary), supported by the “Culture 2000” programme. Although we were not so successful in our search for resources as we had hoped, thanks to the financial help of the Directorate of Culture and Cultural and Natural Heritage of the Council of Europe and the Academy of Cultural Heritage (Lithuania), an inaugural meeting was held in Vilnius, Lithuania. The organizing bodies of the meeting were the National Office of Cultural Heritage (Hungary), the Academy of Cultural Heritage (Lithuania) and the Institut National de Recherches Archéologiques Préventives (France). The basic idea of the project and the meeting was that all over Europe the requirements of economic development are rapidly wiping out many archaeological sites – the character of this destructive activity and the solutions adopted vary among the different countries of Europe. The enlargement of the European Union and the concomitant policy of support for major infra- structure works are elements that give even greater urgency to the need for preventive action. Preventive archaeology is the means for reconciling con- tradictory requirements: territorial and economic development on the one hand and preservation of the archaeological heritage on the other. Originally, eight countries were involved in the EPAC project proposal, but for the Vilnius meeting, to get a better European panorama, profes- sionals from 18 countries were invited. For practical reasons, with two exceptions, one person attended from each country, basically from the archaeological administration sector. There were archaeologists from Belgium, Czech Republic, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Nor- way, Poland, Romania, and Slovenia; Spain was represented in the form of a submitted paper. Representatives of two international professional archaeological organizations also attended: Europae Archaeologiae Consilium and the European Association of Archaeologists. The contributors covered the institutional and legislative background of preventive archaeology in their countries, provided statistical data and information on their country’s particular strengths and greatest problems, compared theory and practice, and explored existing international cooperation, aspects where European- level cooperative activity is most required. PREFACE The title of the meeting itself became a subject of debate, revealing that ‘preventive archaeology’ as understood in English emphasizes very well the modern principle of heritage protection that is to foresee and avoid destruction rather than undertake excavation (be it rescue or salvage) of archaeological sites in development-led archaeology. At the end of the meeting, a brain-storming session summarised the most important questions that had arisen during the meeting. The Council of Europe invited the participants to form a Steering Group to discuss and finalise priorities for future action, connected to the Council of Europe’s monitoring and observation activities on the European Convention on the Protection of the Archaelogical Heritage (Revised)