An archaeological watching brief can take place at a site during any type of development or digging. An archaeologist will watch as building work (such as foundation digging) takes place, to see if any archaeological remains are uncovered that may be disturbed or destroyed.

If finds or remains are seen then the archaeologist may decide to record these as the building work continues. This is known as preservation by record.

The archaeologist may be able to recommend that further archaeological work takes place, such as excavation. More rarely, the remains may be preserved by requiring that the foundations or construction is moved elsewhere.

Click here for more information and links to contact details for the county's Heritage Conservation team.

Have your say

Do you have anything to add to this theme? Let us know.

Your comments about Watching Brief

Tags or Keywords

Tagging is a way to add keywords to connect related records.

• Tag this record