Stewardship

Stewardship is another goal of archaeology. The preservation and management of the material remains of the past and the archaeological record drives much of the practice of archaeology today. Early efforts to preserve ancient buildings and monuments include the Roman emperor Hadrian, a 1462 decree by Pope Pius II to document and preserve ancient houses and monuments in the Vatican, a 1666 law in Sweden prohibiting the destruction of antiquities, and the 1882 Ancient Monuments Act in England. The 1960s and 1970s brought a plethora of national, state, and local preservation laws and policies (e. g., the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 in the United States and the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act of 1979 in England) and established the practice of what is known as rescue archaeology or cultural resource management (see Cultural Resource Management). International conventions such as the UNESCO Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (World Heritage Convention), the ICOMOS International Charter for Archaeological Heritage Management, and the European Convention on the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage of the Council of Europe also play a significant role in archaeological stewardship. Toward this end, professional archaeological societies (e. g., Society for American Archaeology, European Association of Archaeologists) have created programs for sustainable heritage preservation. Site preservation is one component. The newly established site preservation program of the Archaeological Institute of America, for example, focuses on the Greco-Roman city of Cyrene in Libya and includes signage, interpretative publications, cataloging and digitizing records, and training programs in cultural heritage management and tourism. Stewardship also involves the preservation of archaeological collections and records. Heritage education (e. g., The Heritage Education Network) and heritage tourism (e. g., the Heritage Tourism Program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Los Caminos del Rio Heritage Corridor in Texas) are other components of archaeological stewardship. Future preservation is a significant problem. Henry Cleere, former ICOMOS coordinator, identifies the major current threats to the global archaeological heritage as atmospheric pollution, warfare, natural disasters, looting, unsympathetic urban and infrastructure planning, inadequate site management, and over-excavation.