Environment Agency & English Heritage

w w w.environment-agency.gov.uk Guidance on Assessing the Risk Posed by Land Contamination and its Remediation on Archaeological Resource Management Science Report P5-077/SR Science Project: Guidance on Assessing the Risk Posed by Land Contamination and its Remediation on Archaeological Resource Management Summary P5-077/SS This project was jointly commissioned by English authorities. However many facets of total Heritage and the Environment Agency to produce archaeological resource of the UK remain guidance for regulators and others on assessing the undiscovered and undocumented, many coming to risk posed by land contamination on archaeological light only during the development process. Current resource management. Government policy on planning and archaeology gives preference to the preservation of the archaeological The UK has a legacy of land contamination associated resource in situ and the mitigation of the effects of the with its industrial history. The UK also has wide and development on affected sites. varied archaeological resources, often associated with this history. Some have been afforded statutory The UK has a risk based approach to the assessment protection by means of scheduling or listing but the of land contamination, based on the source-pathway- majority have not. Current Government policy receptor framework and the presence of pollutant promotes the re-use of previously used, and potentially linkages. In assessing land contamination it is contaminated, land. Thus there is a potential for important to give due consideration to the presence of conflict between the preservation of our archaeological the archaeological resource. The archaeology may be resources and assessment and remediation of land a source of contamination; a potential receptor or it contamination. may act as a pathway for the transfer of contamination to other receptors. It may also be necessary to The two main legislative provisions for dealing with consider an archaeological resource that does not land contamination are the Part IIA regime and the form any part of the pollutant linkage but may be planning provisions. The Part IIA regime, dealing with vulnerable to any site investigation or remediation land in its current use, introduced a statutory definition works. A number of case studies have been included of contaminated land. In the context of Part IIA and the to illustrate archaeology as a source, as a pathway archaeological resource only Scheduled Ancient and as a receptor to land contamination. Monuments are identified as receptors. Any decision as to whether or not significant harm or the significant For the protection of our archaeological resource when possibility of such harm, as defined in the Part IIA considering land contamination it is imperative that regime is being caused will need to be made after early consultation takes place between the land having sought specialist advice from an Inspector of contamination practitioners, the archaeologist and the Ancient Monuments. This report provides some regulator. Early consultation will facilitate the transfer guidance on what might constitute significant harm. of information between the parties allowing more informed decision making and the development of a The planning provisions use the wider definition of land mitigation strategy thus helping to minimise the contamination and apply to all archaeological likelihood of accidental damage to the resource. resources not just Scheduled Ancient Monuments. Archaeological resources include tangible remains such as buildings and structures; ecofacts (e.g. pollen, bone, animal and plant remains), distinctive features of the landscape (e.g. ancient hedgerows) and characteristic landscape types. The locations of all known archaeological resources are recorded in the sites and monuments records maintained by local It is possible that some of the activities undertaken to This Summary relates to information from Science assess land contamination may help inform the Project P5-077 reported in detail in the following archaeological assessment and vice versa. The land output:- contamination assessment will generally involve a site investigation that may combine a number of different Science Report P5-077/TR intrusive and non intrusive techniques. The Guidance on Assessing the Risk Posed by Land archaeological field evaluation may also involve the Contamination and its Remediation on Archaeological use of similar techniques. This project reviews some of Resource Management. the commonly used intrusive and non intrusive techniques and their potential application in land ISBN Number 1 84432 080 4 April 2003 contamination and archaeological assessments. It also Product Code SCHO0605BJFS-E-P draws attention to ancillary activities including for example the movement of heavy plant across a site Internal Status: Released to Regions and the potential impact of this on vulnerable External Status: Released to Public archaeological resources. Environment Agency Project Manager The management of land contamination frequently Mat Davis, Soil Protection, Kingfisher House requires the application of remedial technologies. The selection of an appropriate remediation technique(s) English Heritage Project Manager will be site specific and influenced by issues including Dr. Sue Stallibrass, University of Liverpool the type and extent of contamination, the ground conditions and time implications. The impact of some Research Contractor techniques may be easily identified and well Land Quality Management Ltd., Unit 8 The Business understood. For example excavation of contaminated Park, Technology Drive, Beeston, Nottingham NG9 materials will result in the destruction of archaeological 2ND. www.lqm.co.uk evidence. For other techniques the impact on the archaeological resource may not be so obvious. For This project was funded by our Science Group, which example an in situ bioremediation technique may provides scientific knowledge, tools and techniques to result in a change in the pH of the archaeological enable us to protect and manage the environment as burial environment promoting the degradation of effectively as possible. ecofacts. The exact nature of the impact will be site specific depending on the nature and condition of the Further copies of this and the above report(s) are archaeological resource and the surrounding available from our National Customer Contact Centre environment. The guidance provides an overview of by emailing [email protected] or some of the remediation technologies commonly used by telephoning 08708 506506. in the UK and their potential impact on the archaeological resource. Summary Product Code SCHO0605BJFT-E-P This guidance aims to raise awareness of the need to consider archaeological resources among those involved in the assessment and management of land contamination, and also the need to consider land contamination issues among those involved in archaeological resource management. It is hoped that the guidance will go some way in reducing any potential conflict between the development of land affected by contamination and the preservation of our archaeological resources. The Environment Agency is the leading public body protecting and improving the environment in England and Wales. It’s our job to make sure that air, land and water are looked after by everyone in today’s society, so that tomorrow’s generations inherit a cleaner, healthier world. Our work includes tackling flooding and pollution incidents, reducing industry’s impacts on the environment, cleaning up rivers, coastal waters and contaminated land, and improving wildlife habitats. This report is the result of research commissioned and funded by the Environment Agency’s Science Programme. Published by: Author(s): Environment Agency, Rio House, Waterside Drive, Aztec West, C McCaffrey, K Challis, D Cranstone, M Trueman and C P Almondsbury, Bristol, BS32 4UD Nathanail Tel: 01454 624400 Fax: 01454 624409 www.environment-agency.gov.uk Dissemination Status: Publicly available ISBN: 1 84432 080 4 Keywords: © Environment Agency June 2005 Land contamination, archaeological resources, site investigation, remediation All rights reserved. This document may be reproduced with prior permission of the Environment Agency. Research Contractor: Land Quality Management Ltd. The views expressed in this document are not necessarily those of the Environment Agency. Trent & Peak Archaeological Unit David Cranstone, Michael Trueman This report is printed on Cyclus Print, a 100% recycled stock, which is 100% post consumer waste and is totally chlorine free. Environment Agency’s Project Manager: Water used is treated and in most cases returned to source in Mat Davis better condition than removed. English Heritage’s Project Manager for Project PNUM 2933 was: Dr Sue Stallibrass Further copies of this report are available from: The Environment Agency’s National Customer Contact Centre by Collaborator: emailing [email protected] or by English Heritage telephoning 08708 506506. 23 Savile Row London W1S 2ET Science Project Number: P5-077 English Heritage Project No. PNUM2933 Product Code: SCHO0605BJFS-E-P Science at the Environment Agency Science underpins the work of the Environment Agency, by providing an up to date understanding of the world about us, and helping us to develop monitoring tools and techniques to manage our environment as efficiently as possible. The work of the Science Group is a key ingredient in the partnership between research, policy

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