The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 or AMAAA was a law passed by the

UK government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

, the latest in a series of Ancient Monument Acts legislating to protect the archaeological

heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset is a preexisting thing of value today ** Cultural heritage is created by humans ** Natural heritage is not * Heritage language Biology * Heredity, biological inheritance of physica ...

of England & Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland has its own legislation. Section 61(12) defines sites that warrant protection due to their being of national importance as '

ancient monument In British law, an ancient monument is an early historical structure or monument (e.g. an archaeological site) worthy of preservation and study due to archaeological or heritage interest. The ''Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 ...

s'. These can be either

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

s or "any other

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...

which in the opinion of the Secretary of State is of public interest by reason of the historic, architectural, traditional, artistic or archaeological interest attaching to it". If an ancient monument is scheduled then it gains additional legal protection. A monument is defined as: Damage to a scheduled monument is a

criminal offence In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

and any works taking place within one require scheduled monument consent from the Secretary of State. The Act also provides for taking ancient monuments into the care of the Secretary of State – the concept of 'guardianship' where an ancient monument remains in private ownership but the monument is cared for and (usually) opened to the public by the relevant national heritage body. The Act (in Part II) also introduced the concept of areas of archaeological importance (AAI), city centres of historic significance which receive limited further protection by forcing developers to permit archaeological access prior to building work starting. As of 2004 only five city centres, all in England, have been designated AAIs (

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

, Chester, Exeter, Hereford and

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

). Part II of the Act was never commenced in Scotland. As the provisions in AAIs are limited compared with the requirements that can be made of developers through the

NPPF The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is a land-use planning policy in the United Kingdom. It was originally published by the UK's Department of Communities and Local Government in March 2012, consolidating over two dozen previously is ...

, and formerly its predecessors in PPS5 and PPG16, AAIs have fallen out of use. The law is administered in England by

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked w ...

and the

Department of Culture, Media and Sport , type = Department , logo = Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport logo.svg , logo_width = , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = Gove ...

, in Scotland by

Historic Environment Scotland Historic Environment Scotland (HES) ( gd, Àrainneachd Eachdraidheil Alba) is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the mer ...

and in Wales by Cadw.

References

External links

*
Historic Scotland Website
– a page about Ancient Monuments of Scotland, which also includes a downloadable copy of the Act. {{UK legislation United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1979 Archaeology of England Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning England and Wales Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning Scotland Archaeology of Scotland Archaeology of Wales Archaeology law Conservation in the United Kingdom

See also

References

External links