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Environmental Archaeology On 1st April 2015 the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England changed its common name from English Heritage to Historic England. We are now re-branding all our documents. Although this document refers to English Heritage, it is still the Commission's current advice and guidance and will in due course be re-branded as Historic England. Please see our website for up to date contact information, and further advice. We welcome feedback to help improve this document, which will be periodically revised. Please email comments to [email protected] We are the government's expert advisory service for England's historic environment. We give constructive advice to local authorities, owners and the public. We champion historic places helping people to understand, value and care for them, now and for the future. HistoricEngland.org.uk/advice 2011 Environmental Archaeology A Guide to the Theory and Practice of Methods, from Sampling and Recovery to Post-excavation (second edition) 1 Environ Archaeol leaflet v4.indd 1 30/6/11 10:26:06 Contents Preface . 3 Case Study 1 . 29 Consequences of not assessing all the samples taken for the What these guidelines cover . 3 recovery of charred plant remains by Jacqui Huntley 1 Introduction . 3 Case Study 2 . 30 Fit for purpose aims and objectives: a fishy tale from Chester 2 Practice . 3 that matches aims, methods and site by Sue Stallibrass Desk-based assessment . 5 Watching briefs . 5 Case Study 3 . 31 Field evaluation . 5 Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction: building better Excavation . 7 age-depth models by John Meadows Assessment . 7 Analysis and reporting . 8 Case Study 4 . 33 Publication and archiving . 8 Sampling for charred plant remains: the importance of Publication . 8 considering context type and the archaeological period Archiving . 8 being investigated by Gill Campbell 3 Sampling . 8 Case Study 5 . 34 Sampling strategies . 8 Romano-British cremation burials and related deposits at Sample types . 11 Ryknield Street, Wall, Staffordshire by Jacqueline I McKinley Recovering human remains . 14 Taking samples . 14 Case Study 6 . 36 Sampling in difficult conditions . 14 Multidisciplinary sampling in the intertidal zone at Goldcliff Storing samples . 14 East, Gwent Levels, Severn Estuary by Vanessa Straker 4 Common types of environmental evidence . 15 Vertebrate remains, excluding humans . 15 Glossary . 38 Human remains . 16 Macroscopic plant remains . 17 Where to get advice . 39 Wood and charcoal . 19 Pollen and spores . 20 References . 40 Insects . 22 Molluscs (snails and shellfish) . 22 Regional research frameworks . .47 Parasite eggs and cysts . 23 Phytoliths . 23 Period research frameworks . 47 Starch granules . 23 Diatoms . 23 Regional reviews of environmental archaeology . 47 Foraminifera . 24 Ostracods and cladocerans . 24 Acknowledgements . 48 Testate amoebae . 25 Isotopes . 25 Biomolecules . 26 Geoarchaeology . 27 Stratigraphic and landscape studies . 27 Chemical and physical analyses . 28 Soil micromorphology . 28 Mineralogy . 28 Particle size analysis . 28 2 Environ Archaeol leaflet v4.indd 2 30/6/11 10:26:06 Preface Consideration of the impact of 1 Introduction development on the historic environment This document provides guidance for good will include assessing the significance Environmental archaeology is the study practice in environmental archaeology . It of, and impacts of development on, of past human economy and environment gives practical advice on the applications the biological remains preserved using earth and life sciences . It tells us and methods of environmental archaeology on archaeological sites and the about ecological, cultural, economic, and within archaeological projects . It should palaeoenvironmental resource . climate change . not replace advice given by specialists These guidelines are intended to Archaeological sites are created by on specific projects, nor is it intended provide guidance to: human activity involving material culture that these guidelines should inhibit (acquisition, manufacture, use, deposition) . future development of methodologies or l curators who advise local planning Archaeological sites and landscapes are recommended procedures . authorities and issue briefs; altered by a combination of natural and Many archaeological projects will l field project managers writing cultural processes . Natural processes be undertaken as a requirement of the specifications or written schemes of include geological and biological activity, planning process . For these projects, investigation; such as erosion, sedimentation, frost heave, Planning Policy Statement (PPS) 5: l those working on development-led or reworking by plants and animals, plant Planning for the Historic Environment, and research projects; growth, deposition of dead plants and its accompanying Historic Environment l other practitioners . animals, and degradation by living ones . Planning Practice Guide (Department for Cultural processes include subsistence Culture Media and Sport / Department The guidelines should be used with and ritual activities, building, discarding for Communities and Local Government reference to areas with a north-west or loss of material, manufacturing and the 2010), set out planning policies on the European or temperate climate . Other creation of manufacturing waste, recycling, conservation of the historic environment climates will give rise to different deliberate destruction and resource in England . These documents give preservation conditions, which lie utilisation . clarification for all those involved with outside the scope of this document . Examples of the types of questions the planning process on how to assess These guidelines have been produced by that environmental archaeology seeks to the significance of heritage assets and English Heritage in consultation with field answer are: mitigate impacts of development on archaeologists, curators and environmental the historic environment . They are a specialists . l What was the environment of the area material consideration for local authorities like at the time of occupation and how when preparing development plans and did it change over time? determining planning applications . They What the guidelines cover l How did people procure food? are also material to the preparation and l How did people prepare food? consideration of Strategic Environmental l an introduction to environmental l What did they throw away and where? Assessments (European Directive 2001/42/ archaeology; l What did people exchange, buy or sell? EC, The Environmental Assessment of l good practice for environmental l Is it possible to identify social status? Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004 archaeology from project planning to l How were plants and animals used in (Statutory Instrument 2004 No 1633)) publication; rituals? and Environmental Impact Assessments l an introduction to sampling strategies; l How did people use or interact with their (Town and Country Planning Regulations, l the circumstances under which environment? Department of the Environment, Transport environmental evidence survives; l Was this site occupied seasonally or all and Regions 1999) . PPS5 is consistent l a guide to types of environmental year round? with obligations undertaken when the samples; l Were these fields/houses flooded by fresh UK became a signatory to Council l taking and storing samples; or saltwater? of Europe conventions, including The l a summary of the most common types of European Convention on the Protection of environmental evidence; the Archaeological Heritage (the ‘Valetta l a glossary of terms; 2 Practice Convention’ 1992) and The European l where to get advice; Landscape Convention (the ‘Florence This section provides a guide to good Convention’ 2000) . practice for the environmental archaeology component of projects . It is not intended to be a ‘methods manual’ for all the various types of environmental material, but rather a set of practical guidelines to help with project planning and implementation . Specific guidelines are available for waterlogged wood (Brunning and Watson 2010), waterlogged leather, (English Heritage 1995), human bone (Mays et al 2004; Mays 2005; McKinley and Roberts 1993), geoarchaeology (English Heritage 2007) and dendrochronology (Hillam 1998) . An up-to-date list of 3 Environ Archaeol leaflet v4.indd 3 30/6/11 10:26:06 English Heritage guidance is available on HELM (www .helm .org .uk/) . The Institute for Archaeologists’ (IfA) Standards and Guidance for collection, documentation, conservation and research of archaeological materials (2008e) provides general guidance for all finds work . These guidelines are applicable to all archaeological projects, but are aimed primarily at projects following the management principles set out in MoRPHE and MoRPHE PPN3 (Lee 2006; Kerr and Stabler 2008) . These principles are designed to ensure the efficient execution of archaeological projects within set time and cost constraints, from fieldwork to publication, including the creation of a project archive . Government guidance set out in Fig 1 Sampling prehistoric deposits for lithics (green lids) and biological remains (blue lids) at Stainton West, near Carlisle. Planning Policy Statement 1 (PPS 1) (photo by J P Huntley). (Office of the Deputy Prime Minister 2005) urges applicants and planning heritage assets and their settings affected therefore make provision for necessary authorities to engage in early pre- either directly or indirectly by the analysis,
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