Is Your Building Site Historically Important?
Finding the right piece of land for your building project is rarely easy. Among other things, you must consider the size of the plot, the zoning requirements and the nature of the neighbouring properties. One thing that you may not realise that you should check is how the land was used in the past. It's understandable to check whether the land used to be a factory or an industrial complex. In those cases, contamination could be a serious concern. However, it could be a much older use of the land that presents a concern. In some areas, you may need to arrange an archaeological survey before permission for your project will be granted.
Why might an archaeological survey be needed?
Perhaps the area where you want to build is near a known colonial settlement, and the authorities are concerned that your building work might destroy valuable relics from that time. Alternatively, the area might have strong links to Aboriginal history that suggest relics are below the surface. In either case, an archaeological survey could help to identify whatever may be in the ground so that it can be carefully catalogued before either being returned to the ground in its original location or taken away for more detailed examination.
Will an archaeological survey disrupt your plans
If you must have an archaeological survey conducted on your site it can be tempting to think that you will be faced with months of disruption, but that probably isn't the case. Very often, the survey will not affect your plans at all. If the survey identifies potentially important remains, you could be asked to make minor alterations to your scheme to prevent damage from occurring. Should significant relics be found, you may be instructed to have regular monitoring throughout your building process. The monitoring will ensure that nothing important is disturbed while the work is ongoing.
Preparing for an archaeological survey
When you need an archaeological survey before your work can progress, you must ensure that you arrange for the best team to visit your site and carry out the work. When you start work on a site, you should have knowledge of the area and the type of relics that you might find there. Look for a survey team who are familiar with that period. They will quickly identify any relics and catalogue them so that you can get on with the building work as rapidly as possible. Contact an archaeological excavation service for more information.
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