Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 16 - History, Humanities and Arts › Part 3 - Historic Preservation Division › Chapter 12 - Mississippi Standards and Guidelines for Archaeological Investigations › Rule 16-3-12.3 - Evaluating Site Significance

Current through June 25, 2024
National Register Criteria
In order for proper NRHP eligibility determinations to be
				  made, a site must first be placed within the proper context. A site must also
				  be addressed at the national, regional, and local levels for NRHP eligibility.
				  Archaeological sites are most often addressed for their eligibility under
				  Criterion D. However, sites can be eligible under all Criteria of the NRHP.
				  Therefore, when addressing an archaeological site's eligibility to the NRHP, be
				  sure to address Criteria A-D. An important thing to keep in mind is that
				  integrity is a
consideration
and is not Criterion D. In
				  addition to archaeological data and contexts, a community's opinion about a
				  historic site's significance sometimes warrants consideration in discerning
				  NRHP eligibility. (See NRHP Bulletins for more information).
Archaeological investigations conducted under federal and
				  regulatory requirements seek to identify "significant" archaeological sites. A
				  significant site meets the criteria for inclusion in the National Register of
				  Historic Places or Mississippi Landmark status. Both use the National Register
				  criteria for evaluating significance.
The National Register criteria are:
Criterion A
: Sites that are associated with
				  events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our
				  history.
Criterion B
: Sites that are associated with the
				  lives of persons significant in our past.
Criterion C
: Sites that embody the distinctive
				  characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent
				  work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a
				  significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual
				  distinction.
Criterion D
: Sites that have yielded, or may be
				  likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.
In addition to these criteria, the NHPA also contains seven
				  Criteria Considerations (
				  36 CFR
				  60.4 ) that may render a property eligible
				  that is ordinarily considered ineligible for the NRHP. They are:
A. A religious property deriving primary
				significance from architectural or artistic distinction or historical
				importance; or
B. A building or
				structure removed from its original location but which is significant primarily
				for architectural value, or which is the surviving structure most importantly
				associated with a historic person or event; or
C. A birthplace or grave of a historical
				figure of outstanding importance if there is no appropriate site or building
				directly associated with his productive life.
D. A cemetery which derives its primary
				significance from graves of persons of transcendent importance, from age, from
				distinctive design features, or from association with historic events; or
E. A reconstructed building when
				accurately executed in a suitable environment and presented in a dignified
				manner as part of a restoration master plan, and when no other building or
				structure with the same association has survived; or
F. A property primarily commemorative in
				intent if design, age, tradition, or symbolic value has invested it with its
				own exceptional significance; or
G. A property achieving significance within
				the past 50 years if it is of exceptional importance.
36CFR
				  60