These words, or words very like them, form the basis of most standard archaeological conditions on planning consent. They require the developer to provide two things. Firstly, a ‘written scheme of investigation’ (wsi). And secondly, once that wsi has been approved by the Local Authority, archaeological fieldwork.
The wsi is a technical document produced by the client’s archaeological contractor which demonstrates what archaeological work is going to take place and where; how it interfaces with the client’s other contractors work (demolition, piling, ground reduction, etc), and how the results of the work will be made public.
The ‘programme of archaeological work’ carried out on this basis is usually defined as an excavation. For this, the site, or part of the site, is handed to archaeologists to remove archaeological layers and features until virgin ground is reached. A variation of this is the ‘watching brief’, where one or more archaeologists attend the main contractors ground works and make what observations or notes they can without interrupting that work. Whether this is applicable is up to the Local Authority.
MOLA carries out over 100 excavations for our clients each year, from trenches within buildings during refurbishment or pre-demolition, to large open-area excavations after demolition, to large open-area greenfield sites.
Over the last 30 years we have refined our processes to satisfy our client's needs. Using desk-based assessment and field evaluation, we establish a predictive model for the site, enabling us to reduce risk in development programming. We focus on consultation early in the process, so that any likely archaeological excavation can be integrated with contractors’ work at the design stage of the development.
We have a large professional field team, including field supervisors with many years’ experience across a wide range of urban and rural sites, who are used to working in challenging construction conditions within tight timescales and budgets. We take health & safety extremely seriously, and are one of the few archaeological organisations to retain our own health and safety officer to attend site works. Nearly all our field supervisors hold the IOSH Supervising Safely Certificate.
For all excavations, multi-disciplinary teams are formed under the leadership of a project manager, who is responsible for all stages of the project. This ensures continuity and a single point of reference for the client.
New business enquiries
To make an enquiry about commissioning work, please email newbusiness@mola.org.uk or call 020 7410 2200.
