23rd September 2013, 05:20 PM
(This post was last modified: 23rd September 2013, 06:00 PM by John Wells.)
The concept of sites being monitored is relatively meaningless in practice. Those who come in to rip sites to bits do not have a two week excavation plan.
They are in and out at the blink of an eye, as was the case around 2011 at:
http://www.armadale.org.uk/castlegreg.htm ....and that is by a public road!
Another of our local sites has be churned up over years by 4x4 events, as I have mentioned on this forum before:
http://www.armadale.org.uk/castlethorn.htm
It took two approaches by Historic Scotland for the tenant farmer (Land owner Lord Torphichen) to stop running events through the central bit of this scheduled monument.
I think that it would be fair to assume that HS had no idea what was going on until they were informed. How could they know?
Kite aerial photography was useful for picking up the damage, as the farmer also contravenes the Scottish Land Reform Act by being not too friendly (with a range of threats) towards people walking in his 'back garden', the lower Torphichen Hills.
As well as the Cairn that I mentioned, there is also this relatively recent estate (late 1990s?):
http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/904...ivingston/
for which I have been told there are no records of any archaeological supervision!
Fortunately, all is much better in Wild West Lothian since the West of Scotland Archaeology Service was brought on board by the Council in 2004.
But one has to remain on guard, as old attitudes do persist in some quarters and we have been led a merry dance at times!
They are in and out at the blink of an eye, as was the case around 2011 at:
http://www.armadale.org.uk/castlegreg.htm ....and that is by a public road!
Another of our local sites has be churned up over years by 4x4 events, as I have mentioned on this forum before:
http://www.armadale.org.uk/castlethorn.htm
It took two approaches by Historic Scotland for the tenant farmer (Land owner Lord Torphichen) to stop running events through the central bit of this scheduled monument.
I think that it would be fair to assume that HS had no idea what was going on until they were informed. How could they know?
Kite aerial photography was useful for picking up the damage, as the farmer also contravenes the Scottish Land Reform Act by being not too friendly (with a range of threats) towards people walking in his 'back garden', the lower Torphichen Hills.
As well as the Cairn that I mentioned, there is also this relatively recent estate (late 1990s?):
http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/904...ivingston/
for which I have been told there are no records of any archaeological supervision!
Fortunately, all is much better in Wild West Lothian since the West of Scotland Archaeology Service was brought on board by the Council in 2004.
But one has to remain on guard, as old attitudes do persist in some quarters and we have been led a merry dance at times!