The protection of the settings of archaeological sites in Scotland

Black, Mairi (2005) The protection of the settings of archaeological sites in Scotland. In: 15th ICOMOS General Assembly and International Symposium: ‘Monuments and sites in their setting - conserving cultural heritage in changing townscapes and landscapes’, 17 – 21 oct 2005, Xi'an, China. [Conference or Workshop Item]

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Abstract (in English)

Scotland has a rich archaeological heritage that has been the subject of government protection for nearly 125 years. As part of the United Kingdom, Scotland is committed to fulfilling its obligations under the various international charters and conventions that are designed to protect the historic environment. Background From the beginning of the production of international conservation charters in the twentieth century, the preservation of the setting of a monument has been seen as a way of protecting the appreciation, interpretation and the visitor’s experience of the monument within appropriate surroundings. However, the UK guidance does not define setting in detail or what could be considered as an appropriate setting. It has been left to the archaeological and planning professions to explore the definition further. Issues This paper looks at how the term has been interpreted and used by the archaeological and planning professions. It will explain how the term’s definition has not been used consistently or in its widest sense. This paper presents a definition of the full meaning of the term “setting”. A method of assessment for the setting of archaeological sites will be presented. It will assess existing techniques of landscape analysis, including visual impact assessment and landscape capacity study with particular reference to the buffer zone of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site. The benefits and pitfalls of the method will be explained along with recommendations for further work.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Authors:	Authors Email Black, Mairi UNSPECIFIED
Languages:	English
Keywords:	archaeological heritage; archaeological sites; setting; concept; charters; landscape; visual impact; World Heritage Site; protection
Subjects:	E.CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION > 02. Theory and doctrinal texts M.WORLD HERITAGE CONVENTION > 03. World Heritage List B. ARCHAEOLOGY > 02. Archaeological site and remains E.CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION > 05. Sites
Name of monument, town, site, museum:	Heart of Neolithic Orkney, Scotland, UK
UNESCO WHC Number:	514
ICOMOS Special Collection:	Scientific Symposium (ICOMOS General Assemblies)
ICOMOS Special Collection Volume:	2005, 15th
Depositing User:	Jose Garcia
Date Deposited:	27 Oct 2010 06:44
Last Modified:	13 Jan 2011 19:14
References:	1. The Athens Charter for the Restoration of Historic Monuments, 1931. 2. The Venice Charter. International Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites, 1964. 3. Appleton Charter for the Protection and Enhancement of the Built Environment,1983. 4. Charter for the Conservation of Places of Cultural Heritage Value, 1992. 5. The Australia ICOMOS Charter for the Conservation of Places of Cultural Significance (the Burra Charter) 1979 revised 1981, 1988 and 1999. 6. Australia ICOMOS (1988) Guidelines to the Burra Charter: Cultural Significance, http://www.icomos.org /australia/ 7. Barclay, G. (ed) (1997) State-Funded Rescue Archaeology in Scotland, Past, Present and Future, Occasional Paper number 2, Historic Scotland Ancient Monuments Division, Edinburgh. 8. Campbell, L. Landscape Character Assessment, Landscape and Visual Impacts SNH Landscape Group. Seminar given to Scottish Executive Inquiry Reporters Unit, May 2003. 9. Colcutt, S. (1999) The Setting of Cultural Heritage Features, Journal of Planning Law, June, pp. 498-513. 10. Cummings, V. (2003) The Neolithic Chambered Cairns of South Uist, Internet Archaeology, 8 (http://intarch.york.ac.uk/journal/issue8/cummings_toc.html) 11. David Tyldesley and Associates (2001) Landscape Studies of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site, Report to Scottish Natural Heritage and Historic Scotland. 12. English Heritage (2000) The Power of Place, The Future of the Historic Environment, Power of Place Office, London. 13. Fairclough, G. (1991) Ancient Monuments’ Setting and Visual Amenity, unpublished correspondence to Dr David Breeze, Historic Scotland, 28th January 1991. 14. Humble, J. (2002) Run the Risk Assessment and Reap the Rewards. Paper presented at European Association of Archaeologists Conference, Thessaloniki. 15. Nasman, U. and Wegraeus, E. (ed.) (1979) Eketorp Fortification and Settlement on Öland/Sweden. The Setting, Almqvist and Wiksell International, Stockholm. 16. Scottish Executive (1995) Use of Environmental Impact Assessment in the Planning System and Electricity Act Draft Final Report, Scottish Executive 17. Scottish Office Environment Department (SOED) (1994) National Planning Policy Guideline (NPPG) 5 Archaeology and Planning, Edinburgh, Scottish Office. 18. Stevenson, R, and Griffiths, S. (1994) The Visual Impact of Windfarms: Lessons from the UK Experience ETSU W/13/00395/REP. ETSU for the Department of Trade and Industry. 19. Swanwick, C. (2002) Landscape Character Assessment Guidance for England and Scotland, The Countryside Agency and Scottish Natural Heritage. 20. Tilley, C. (1994) A Phenomenology of Landscape, Berg, Oxford. 21. Wheatley, D. (1995) Cumulative Viewshed Analysis: a GIS-based method for investigating intervisibility and its archaeological application, in G. Lock and Z. Stancie (eds) The Impact of GIS on European Archaeology, London, Routledge.
URI:	https://openarchive.icomos.org/id/eprint/272

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