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Date: | Wed, 16 Jan 2002 14:28:29 +1100 |
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In New South Wales theoretically all survey and excavation reports are
deposited with the National Parks and Wildlife Service, which was also
in the early period able to abstract site information from earlier
museum and amateur work over more than a century. In the period I was
there deposit was not legally mandated, but archaeologists saw the
benefits of a central resource. Confidentiality issues [both commercial
and personal / sacred knowledge] are being dealt with in the current
Register upgrade.
Historical archaeology excavation reports are required to be lodged as
a condition of the permit in the Heritage Office library, but there is
no such compulsion for archaeological assessments, student projects etc.
or the original reports that become abstracted in EIA reports. In NSW
archaeological sites [within a reasonably generous definition] are
protected by blanket legislation, rather than through listing on a
schedule, so the immediate effect is less catastrophic, but it remains a
problem for understanding the resource and wheel reinvention.
Obviously this will differ throughout Australia and across nations. It
was identified in an initial survey of issues for the workshop that was
conducted at the 2001 ASHA conference, and I remember papers complaining
about grey literature dating from the 1970s.
>>> [log in to unmask] 01/16 1:31 pm >>>
Just to clarify the situation in other states (and countries)
In Victoria copies archaeological reports have to be lodged with the
relevant Government Departments - Aboriginal Affairs or Heritage
Victoria.
These therefore maintain the authoritive lists of survey reports. If a
report is confidential to a client, the existence of it at least can
be
confirmed. Are there similar systems in place in other states?
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