Archaeological/Heritage Assessments

The Objectives of a Stage 1 Assessment include:

•To provide information about the property’s geography, history, previous archaeological fieldwork, and current land conditions.
•Evaluate, in detail, the property’s archaeological potential which will support recommendations for Stage 2 survey for all parts of the property.
•To recommend appropriate strategies for Stage 2 survey.

The Background study provides a record of the property’s archaeological and land use history and present conditions.

The property inspection provides first-hand knowledge of the geography, topography, and current conditions, in addition to the evaluation and mapping of archaeological potential. It is a visual inspection only and does not include excavation of collection of archaeological resources.

The analysis will provide a clear description, and detailed evaluation of:

•All features of archaeological potential noted for the property.
•The property’s archaeological potential.

This survey provides an overview of archaeological resources on the property and a determination of whether any of the resources might be artifacts or archaeological sites with cultural heritage value or significance.

The Objectives of a Stage 2 Assessment include:

•The documentation of all archaeological resources.
•To determine whether the property and identified archaeological resources merit further assessment.
•Recommendation of appropriate Stage 3 strategies for identified archaeological remains.

The systematic property survey associated with a Stage 2 assessment provides an inventory and documentation of all archaeological resources on the property. The survey may include one or both of the following methods:

•Pedestrian Survey: Systematic walking of open ploughed fields.
•Test Pit Survey: Systematic walking of the property, excavating small pits by hand at regular intervals and examining their contents, in areas where ploughing is not possible.

Any materials recovered from the survey are analyzed as to their nature and characteristics, and evaluated against a criteria to determine any cultural heritage value or interest that may require further assessment.

For any archaeological sites discovered during the Stage 2 survey, a Stage 3 assessment will:

•Determine and characterize the extent of archaeological sites and related artifacts.
•Collect a representative sample of artifacts.
•Assess the cultural heritage value or interest of the archaeological site.
•Determine the need for mitigation of development impacts and recommend appropriate strategies for mitigation and future conservation.

In addition, the Stage 3 assessment includes detailed documentary research on the land use and occupation history specific to the site property in order to supplement the Stage 1 background study.

The Archaeological Site Assessment employs specific methods for data collection:

•Controlled Surface Pick-up: For ploughed field sites discovered during Stage 2, this method includes an examination, mapping, and collecting of artifacts on the site’s ground surface.
•Test Unit Excavation: A controlled excavation of 1 m square test units, in selected locations, to determine the presence of buried sites, structures, stratigraphy, cultural features, to collect a representative sample of artifacts and define site boundaries.

The objectives of the Stage 4 archaeological assessment are to address the developmental impacts on archaeological sites that are found to have significant levels of cultural heritage value or interest, and require mitigation through two means:

•Avoidance and Protection
•Excavation

The preferred option for mitigation is avoidance and protection which preserves archaeological sites intact. This option is more viable for sites where significant cultural heritage value or interest is determined early on in the development process, when plans are more flexible.