A new research report has been released by Historic England (HE) which shows how archaeological practice has benefited from development over the last 25 years.
Historic England (HE) writes:
Historic England (formerly English Heritage) has published a new report illustrating how development-led archaeological discoveries have shed new light on our ancient and recent past. We now know that ancient England was more heavily populated, better connected internationally and more sophisticated than was previously thought. The evidence for this has come as a direct result of archaeological investigations for new developments. The report celebrates 25 years since archaeology was made part of the system for granting planning permission.
This new policy marked a watershed in England’s archaeology, and prevented the loss of the sort of archaeological remains that happened before its implementation.
In 1954 work on a new office block in the City of London unearthed the foundations of a Roman temple of the god Mithras which were then dismantled. Post-war renewal in the 1950s and 60s saw similar losses. In places such as Chester, York and Winchester, many precious archaeological remains were lost without being recorded.
There was increasing concern about the losses until the foundations of Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre were discovered in 1989 during the construction of a new office block in London’s Bankside. Following public outcry, the building was redesigned to allow the Rose’s remains to stay intact.
In November 1990, the Government issued a new policy on archaeology and planning. This allowed for archaeological surveys to be carried out before planning permission is granted.
The policy, now built into the National Planning Policy Framework has been a great success.
View the press release
Download the report
