Act of Parliament | |
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Long title | An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to ancient monuments; to make provision for the investigation, preservation and recording of matters of archaeological or historical interest and (in connection therewith) for the regulation of operations or activities affecting such matters; to provide for the recovery of grants under section 10 of the Town and Country Planning (Amendment) Act 1972 or under section 4 of the Historic Buildings and Ancient Monuments Act 1953 in certain circumstances; and to provide for grants by the Secretary of State to the Architectural Heritage Fund. |
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Citation | 1979 c. 46 |
Territorial extent | England and Wales, and Scotland |
Other legislation | |
Repeals/revokes | |
Status: Current legislation | |
Text of statute as originally enacted | |
Text of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk. |
The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 (c. 46) or AMAAA was a law passed by the UK government, the latest in a series of Ancient Monument Acts legislating to protect the archaeological heritage of England and Wales, and Scotland. [1] Northern Ireland has its own legislation.
Section 61(12) defines sites that warrant protection due to their being of national importance as 'ancient monuments'. These can be either scheduled monuments or "any other monument 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:
any building, structure or work above or below the surface of the land, any cave or excavation; any site comprising the remains of any such building, structure or work or any cave or excavation; and any site comprising or comprising the remains of any vehicle, vessel or aircraft or other movable structure or part thereof...
— Section 61 (7)
Damage to a scheduled monument is a criminal offence 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, Chester, Exeter, Hereford and York). 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, and formerly its predecessors in PPS5 and PPG16, AAIs have fallen out of use.
The law is administered in England by Historic England and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, in Scotland by Historic Environment Scotland and in Wales by Cadw.
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
This page gives an overview of the complex structure of environmental and cultural conservation in the United Kingdom.
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural and/or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, Cadw in Wales, and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency in Northern Ireland. The classification schemes differ between England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The term has also been used in the Republic of Ireland, where buildings are protected under the Planning and Development Act 2000, although the statutory term in Ireland is "protected structure."
The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, established in 1908, is a Welsh Government sponsored body concerned with some aspects of the archaeological, architectural and historic environment of Wales. It is based in Aberystwyth.
An ancient monument can refer to any early or historical manmade structure and/or architecture. Certain ancient monuments are of cultural importance for nations and become symbols of international recognition, including the ruins of Baalbek on Lebanese currency, the Angkor Wat on Cambodian currency and the Great Wall of China on the Chinese currency. There are some countries that display ancient buildings as symbols on their coats of arms as a way to affirm national identity. In this way, ancient monuments in the modern world are used as icons to represent a country. The importance of ancient monuments extends to cultural heritage and how the people of a nation or city identify themselves.
Cultural heritage management (CHM) is the vocation and practice of managing cultural heritage. It is a branch of cultural resources management (CRM), although it also draws on the practices of cultural conservation, restoration, museology, archaeology, history and architecture. While the term cultural heritage is generally used in Europe, in the US the term cultural resources is in more general use specifically referring to cultural heritage resources.
The Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was introduced by John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury, recognising the need for a governmental administration on the protection of ancient monuments, and was finally passed after a number of failed attempts on heritage protection acts. The gradual change towards a state-based authority responsible for the safeguarding of the Kingdom's national heritage manifested itself through the appointment of the first Inspector of Ancient Monuments in 1882, General Pitt Rivers.
The Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which provides protection for designated shipwrecks.
Historic England is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with protecting the historic environment of England by preserving and listing historic buildings, scheduling ancient monuments, registering historic parks and gardens and by advising central and local government.
The Ancient Monuments Consolidation and Amendment Act 1913 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that aimed to improve the protection afforded to ancient monuments in Britain.
Designation is the act of setting aside something, or devoting it to a particular purpose. In the legal planning context, it is also "the action of choosing a place for a special purpose or giving it a special status".
A scheduled monument in Scotland is a nationally important archaeological site or monument which is given legal protection by being placed on a list maintained by Historic Environment Scotland. The aim of scheduling is to preserve the country's most significant sites and monuments as far as possible in the form in which they have been inherited.
A scheduled monument in Scotland is a nationally important archaeological site or monument which is given legal protection by being placed on a list maintained by Historic Environment Scotland. The aim of scheduling is to preserve the country's most significant sites and monuments as far as possible in the form in which they have been inherited.
A scheduled monument in Scotland is a nationally important archaeological site or monument which is given legal protection by being placed on a list maintained by Historic Environment Scotland. The aim of scheduling is to preserve the country's most significant sites and monuments as far as possible in the form in which they have been inherited.
A scheduled monument in Scotland is a nationally important archaeological site or monument which is given legal protection by being placed on a list maintained by Historic Environment Scotland. The aim of scheduling is to preserve the country's most significant sites and monuments as far as possible in the form in which they have been inherited.
A scheduled monument in Scotland is a nationally important archaeological site or monument which is given legal protection by being placed on a list maintained by Historic Environment Scotland. The aim of scheduling is to preserve the country's most significant sites and monuments as far as possible in the form in which they have been inherited.
A scheduled monument in Scotland is a nationally important archaeological site or monument which is given legal protection by being placed on a list maintained by Historic Environment Scotland. The aim of scheduling is to preserve the country's most significant sites and monuments as far as possible in the form in which they have been inherited.
A scheduled monument in Scotland is a nationally important archaeological site or monument which is given legal protection by being placed on a list maintained by Historic Environment Scotland. The aim of scheduling is to preserve the country's most significant sites and monuments as far as possible in the form in which they have been inherited.
A scheduled monument in Scotland is a nationally important archaeological site or monument which is given legal protection by being placed on a list maintained by Historic Environment Scotland. The aim of scheduling is to preserve the country's most significant sites and monuments as far as possible in the form in which they have been inherited.