9. Glossary

ALGAO – Association of Local Government Archaeological Officers

Anoxic – oxygen-depleted

Archaeological potential – the likelihood of archaeological material/remains being present

Archaeological sensitivity mapping – determining and mapping the sensitivity of a location, based on: the likelihood of a heritage asset occurring, its state of preservation, its significance, and the impacts (vulnerabilities/opportunities) presented to it through change scenarios (see Last and Kidd 2023)

Borrow pits – features created where peat is sourced for blocking grips, ditches, or gullies as part of restoration works

Brash – leaf and twig material, usually from cutting/harvesting

Bunds – a retaining structure used on peatlands to hold in water

CIfA – Chartered Institute for Archaeologists

Cultural capital – see entry for Culture and Heritage Capital

Culture and Heritage Capital – ‘(also referred to as cultural capital) is defined as “an asset which embodies, stores or gives rise to cultural value in addition to whatever economic value it may possess” (Throsby, 1999)’ (from UK Government 2021b)

Defra – Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

EIA (Agriculture) Regulations – Environmental Impact Assessment requirements under certain rural payment schemes.

Evaluation trenching – Small-scale archaeological excavation targeted at establishing the potential, character and condition of possible archaeological/palaeoenvironmental remains (also see Test pitting)

Grip – an artificial ditch feature dug to drain peat

Hagged peat – eroded peat banks, with gullies and steep peat faces, and which may be undercut. Also called peat hags.

Heritage asset – as defined in the NPPF (UK Government 2023a, 70) as “a building, monument, site, place, area or landscape identified as having a degree of significance meriting consideration in planning decisions, because of its heritage interest. It includes designated heritage assets and assets identified by the local planning authority (including local listing)”.

Historic Environment Record (HER) – a publicly accessible information resource maintained by the respective local authority, containing detailed information on their local authority area’s historic environment (archaeology and historic built environment). Together, the HERs form a national network across England

Humified – a term used to refer to decayed pea

IEMA – Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment

IHBC – Institute of Historic Building Conservation

IUCN – International Union for Conservation of Nature

Lidar – ‘light detection and ranging’; the use of laser technologies to produce land surface topography models

LPA – Local Planning Authority

Military Aircraft Crash Sites – locations where military aircraft have crashed. These are protected under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986

National Landscapes – previously known as AONBs (Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty) and still legally designated as such

Natural capital – the ‘stock of natural assets which provide benefits to people in the form of tangible things which are typically marketed (such as timber, fish stocks, minerals) and less tangible services (such as air purification, recreational settings and flood prevention)’ (see UK Government 2023b)

NPPF – National Planning Policy Framework; the “government's planning policies for England and how these are expected to be applied”; and see Historic England (2022)

Palaeoecology – ‘old ecology’; the study of past environments from the material evidence surviving of those past ecosystems; plants, animals, sediments etc (see Table 1). Studied by palaeoecologists.

Palaeoenvironmental – of past environments; using a range of approaches to reconstruct past environments and environmental conditions (e.g. using palaeoecological and/or palaeoclimatological techniques)

Peat [classifications] – in England, peat deposits are classified by Natural England (2010, 7) as:

  • Deep peaty soils: areas covered with a majority of peat >40cm deep
  • Shallow peaty soils: areas with a majority of soils with peat 10–40cm deep
  • Soils with peaty pockets: areas of mostly non-peat soils, supporting smaller pockets of deep peat (such as flushes or exposures of buried peat) too small to map at a national scale

Peat [substance] – highly organic material, composed primarily of partially decomposed (subfossil) plant remains, and preserved through waterlogging

Peat preservation – this refers to the preservation condition of the peat deposit itself (rather than the condition of the peat habitat/ecosystem)

Project archive – the materials (physical and/or digital) that are created during a project, and selected for retention in perpetuity

Programme of archaeological monitoring and recording – an approach to works previously known as an ‘archaeological watching brief’

QRA – Quaternary Research Association

Risk log = risk register – a list of potential risks that could realistically affect the running of a project and increase resource requirements (time/money). The risk log is initially formulated during project planning, but is revisited regularly throughout a project and updated as issues arise

Scheduled Monuments (SMs) – heritage assets protected by law for their national importance under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act (1979). Any proposed work or changes will require SMC

Scheduled Monument Consent (SMC) – written permission needed from the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, administered by Historic England, to carry out any works on an SM

Shifting baseline syndrome – where there is a “gradual change in the accepted norms for the condition of the natural environment due to a lack of human experience, memory and/or knowledge of its past condition” (Soga and Gaston 2018, p. 222)

Stakeholders – those with expertise, interest, or concern in, or who will be impacted by, the work

SUA – Small Unmanned Aircraft (‘drones’); also referred to as UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle), UAS (unmanned aircraft system), RPAS (remotely piloted aircraft systems)

Subfossils – remains of organisms that are not fossilised (mineralised)

Test pitting – a rapid phase of investigation with minimal intrusion/excavation, to evaluate an archaeological site (also see Evaluation trenching)

Toolbox talk – presentations given at the start of, or during, a project which provide non-archaeological contractors with a basic understanding of what remains might be found and how to recognise them. Often used in tandem with an Unexpected Discovery Protocol

Treasure – materials as defined by the 1996 Treasure Act (UK Government 1996) and amended in 2023; any object the Secretary of State deems to be of “outstanding historical, archaeological or cultural importance”, with material and/or age specifications.

Unexpected discoveries protocol – a document that sets out the actions that will be taken in the event of an unexpected discovery. For example, stop work immediately; inform relevant stakeholders, etc. They are often used in tandem with toolbox talks

UNESCO – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

World Heritage Sites (WHS) – sites recognised internationally by UNESCO under the 1972 World Heritage Convention, for their outstanding universal value(s): cultural, natural, and/or scientific

WSI – Written Scheme of Investigation; also known as a Project Design (PD)