Iowa Administrative Code › Agency 685 - Archaeologist › Chapter 1 - Purpose of the Agency › Rule 685-1.1 - Mission

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 3, July 24, 2024
The office of state archaeologist, hereafter referred to as
				OSA, was organized in 1959 to provide for the location, recovery, restoration
				and preservation of archaeological materials for the state, and coordinate
				these activities with other state agencies. The OSA publishes both educational
				and scientific reports related to these duties and responsibilities.
(1) In order to meet these statutory
			 objectives under Iowa Code section
			 263B.2 and Acts of the
			 Sixty-seventh General Assembly, Senate File 2200, sections 26 and 50, the OSA
			 is defined as the primary state interagency service organization for
			 archaeological survey, evaluation, and mitigation. In this capacity, the OSA is
			 notified of projects that are funded or permitted by the state or that have the
			 potential for adversely affecting archaeological sites.
(2) In instances where an agency lacks an
			 archaeological program, the OSA will contact appropriate institutions and
			 professional archaeologists to determine their interest in participating in a
			 state-funded project.
(3) If an
			 organization or individual other than the OSA agrees to conduct archaeological
			 investigations, the OSA will establish a direct contact between the pertinent
			 state agency and the institution or professional archaeologist. In such
			 projects the OSA acts primarily to coordinate archaeological studies on state
			 projects and ensures that such studies deemed necessary are
			 completed.
(4) The goal of
			 utilizing the procedures in this rule, as they apply to the department of
			 transportation and to any other state agency, is to ensure that neither the
			 state nor any of its legal subdivisions is responsible for the needless
			 destruction of historical objects. If such destruction occurs, or cannot be
			 avoided, OSA will take proper reasonable action to obtain all possible
			 information concerning such materials prior to destruction. However, OSA will
			 not assume financial responsibility for intermediate- to large-scale actions
			 involving the salvaging of archaeological information.
(5) OSA performs other duties such as
			 expansion and development of professional and public input into the operation
			 of the office via communication with professional organizations, state and
			 federal agencies and private societies.
(6) OSA provides assistance to local and
			 regional groups or individuals throughout the state in the areas of lectures,
			 general assistance on public or private projects, curation of artifacts and
			 offers programs of assistance to public schools.
(7) OSA maintains an archaeological
			 repository for the state and bears the related responsibility of development
			 and maintenance of an archaeological documents collection related to material
			 in the repository.
(8) OSA may
			 perform archaeological contract services for agencies utilizing federal, state,
			 or private funding.
This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code sections 263B.2,
				263B.6 and 263B.9.