Essex Archaeological News
Summer 1973
(later called the Essex
Society for Archaeology and History)
Extracts from Newsletter No 43
THE POSSIBLE COUNTY COUNCIL
ARCHAEOLOGICAL UNIT.
In the last newsletter we
reported the meeting at Fortress House on the 22nd February, called by the
Department of the Environment to discuss the future control of 'regional'
archaeology.
Within a month, on the 19th
March, a meeting was held at County Hall, Chelmsford, of County Council
Officers and various grant aided societies who carry out excavation in Essex.
The discussion of the meeting
concerned the setting up of an Archaeological Unit for the area, and the
representatives were asked to consider whether such a unit should be on a basis
of Essex alone, or combined with Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire. At the close
of the meeting the representatives went away to sound out the feelings of their
various bodies, and to reply to the County Planner (within whose scope the
organisation would fall), by the end of April.
It is clear that the body that
the County has in mind would employ a number of professional archaeologists,
providing them with both the necessary technical back-up of presumably drawing
services, photography, office accommodation and staff, and providing a
continuous employment prospect with a career structure.
It seems quite clear that the
existence of such a body would not inhibit the activities of amateur bodies,
but rather co-ordinate effort and ensure that the allocation of DOE funds was
made on the right priority order. It also seemed that the management of such a
unit, and inter alia the archaeology of Essex, would rest with some central
committee which would be made up partly of County Council members and partly of
local archaeologists.
This represents a great step
forward for archaeology since we shall for the very first time, have the County
Council actively engaged in the need for archaeology, instead of the role of
sponsor which has been the position hitherto.
Further, the County Planning
Department are in the best position to both know of likely threats, and to plan
to avoid these if possible The County Archaeologist is part of the Department,
and of course most of the present arrangements which are planned spring from
his influence in the Department in question.
On the question of whether the
Unit should be based on the County, or be regional in concept, there are of
course many arguments. However the main line of thought seems to be that Essex
is a special case when viewed in comparison with the other counties, There is
neither the population question, the same amount of road planning, or of course
a potential airport. On an administrative basis alone Essex is a big enough
geographical area as it is, without coupling it with any other county.
It is also felt that things
will get off the ground quicker with only one authority involved, and, of
course, the County Council Committee which has to deal with the decision to
inaugurate the Unit, will do this more readily if Essex rates are going to
Essex people, and to Essex advantages.
These are only a few of the
arguments, but the upshot of the matter is that the Society is in favour of a
County Unit, as against a multi-county affair, and this feeling is shared with
the Chelmsford Excavation Committee, with which we are involved.
So we can look to the future
with hope. With County money and organisation behind archaeology we may be able
to deal effectively with the problem of Maplin, and all the other road
improvement schemes now on the drawing board, we may be able to deal with the
rash of commuter dormitory estates, the gravel pits and all those other threats
to our heritage of information which we should otherwise have failed to deal
with adequately.
We are taking one giant step
for Archaeology.
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