Publications & Reports

Based on the findings of this research, a number of recommendations have emerged, which if implemented would, in the Council’s opinion, provide greater efficiency and quality as well as cost-effective support for our architectural heritage.

The vision for Rothe House involves ensuring the protection, long-term survival and enhancement of the complex, in addition to promoting and interpreting the history of the house to the public.

The survey identified 3,168 excavations for the period between 1930 and 1997. A total of 1,353 reports were classified as unpublished (43%). Eighty-one reports were considered to be of national significance, while a further 340 reports were of regional significance and should be published in either a journal or as part of a ‘synthetic package’. 

Category 3 reports represent the largest class of unpublished material (431 excavations), and their potential for further publication needs careful consideration. Less significant excavations constitute a relatively small number of reports (186). The component of the backlog that can clearly be defined as suitable for publication in its own right accounts for 421 reports.

The remains of our industrial past can be seen throughout the country: bridges, canals, railways and stores still in use, all bear testimony to the work of past generations. However, there are other signs too - derelict buildings, rusting machinery, lone chimneys marking the sites of once-thriving industries. 

The report indicates that in the areas studied, 34% of the monuments known to have existed have been destroyed. It suggests that in the years preceding the report the rate of destruction, far from decreasing through improved legislation and raising awareness, had in fact accelerated.

They are intended to be complementary to the published policies of the government on the protection of the archaeological heritage and are not a substitute for the need for published guidance to planning authorities from the central government on archaeology in the planning process. The guidelines are in technical rather than legal terms, in order to help improve professional practice and procedures.

There has been a dramatic increase in testing and monitoring in the last number of years, 94.5% of all licensed test excavations and 93% of monitoring have occurred since 1990. The study is based on audits and quality assessments of a sample of recent monitoring and assessment reports and on consultations with professional archaeologists involved with the authorisation and execution of testing and monitoring investigations. The results of this study showed up many problems with both monitoring and testing procedures and reporting.

The acceptance of the recommendations will secure long-term benefits for our heritage and for the urban communities which are experiencing development.

Research work was undertaken in several directions: drafting and circulation of a questionnaire on Building Regulations and their impact on historic buildings to the construction design professions - architects, engineers, and surveyors; drafting of a
similar questionnaire and its circulation to Building Control, Fire and Planning Authorities throughout the State; interviews with
interested individuals; and analyses of legislation, regulation and practice here and in selected countries abroad, notably
the United Kingdom and the United States.