Scheduling' is shorthand for the process through which nationally important sites and monuments are given legal protection by being placed on a list, or 'schedule'. English Heritage takes the lead in identifying sites in England which should be placed on the schedule by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. A schedule has been kept since 1882 of monuments whose preservation is given priority over other land uses. The current legislation, the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979, supports a formal system of Scheduled Monument Consent for any work to a designated monument.
Scheduling is the only legal protection specifically for archaeological sites.
The word 'monument' covers the whole range of archaeological sites. Scheduled monuments are not always ancient, or visible above ground. Many prehistoric Stone Circles, such as this one in Derbyshire are already protected by scheduling. Only deliberately created structures, features and remains can be scheduled. There are 1 million or so archaeological sites or find spots of all types currently recorded in England, of which perhaps less than half might qualify for consideration for scheduling as 'monuments'.