16th February 2006, 09:06 AM
Potentially even more controversial, what is there to prevent the applicant from engaging an archaeological contractor to undertake an archaeological excavation of these features (for research purposes ?) - an activity that would not require planning consent. Again this then may leave the door open for another application.
I hesitate in putting this up on a public forum - but the situation is more fundementally flawed than you imply. If a contracting unit were used there is a good chance that there will be peole involved who are in the IFA, and so accountable for their professional conduct.
However, outside of the planning and scheduling system or any volentary schemer the landowner may enter - what protections are on offer for the archaeology? The only standards would be acting on those involved who had imposed professional standards on themselves by joining the IFA. There is nothing to stop the landowner carrying out their own 'archaeological excavation' certainly no requirments for health and safety, project designs, archiving, finds analysis, publication, dissemination, appropiate excavation and sampling methodologies etc etc etc.
This I hope underlines why the current system falls well below the obligations of Valletta - and why I believe it is important to strive for a systsem of chartered archaeologists ( professional and avocational) being required for the conduction of any archaeological project ( see other threads...)
sorry this sounds a bit like a sermon...
I hesitate in putting this up on a public forum - but the situation is more fundementally flawed than you imply. If a contracting unit were used there is a good chance that there will be peole involved who are in the IFA, and so accountable for their professional conduct.
However, outside of the planning and scheduling system or any volentary schemer the landowner may enter - what protections are on offer for the archaeology? The only standards would be acting on those involved who had imposed professional standards on themselves by joining the IFA. There is nothing to stop the landowner carrying out their own 'archaeological excavation' certainly no requirments for health and safety, project designs, archiving, finds analysis, publication, dissemination, appropiate excavation and sampling methodologies etc etc etc.
This I hope underlines why the current system falls well below the obligations of Valletta - and why I believe it is important to strive for a systsem of chartered archaeologists ( professional and avocational) being required for the conduction of any archaeological project ( see other threads...)
sorry this sounds a bit like a sermon...