Contact Addresses for County Archaeological Officers and SMRs. Annex 4- Secretary of State's criteria for scheduling. The importance of archaeology 3. These remains vary enormously in their state of preservation and in the extent of their appeal to the public. Archaeological remains should be seen as a . finite, and non-renewable resource, in many cases highly fragile and vulnerable to damage and destruction.
Appropriate management is therefore essential to ensure that they survive in good condition.
They are part of our sense of national identity and are valuable both for their own sake and for their role in education, leisure and tourism. With the many demands of modern society, it is not always feasible to save all archaeological remains. The key question is where and how to strike the right balance. Where nationally important archaeological remains, whether scheduled or not, and their settings, are affected by proposed development there should be a presumption in favour of their physical preservation. Cases involving archaeological remains of lesser importance will not always be so clear cut.