Archaeological remains are a physical record of thousands of years of human activity and exist above and below ground. Angus is rich with such remains, and their protection is an important consideration.
Proposals for change, including development or disturbance of the ground, must take account of the potential archaeological interest of the building or site. It is the developer’s responsibility to ensure archaeological remains are dealt with in the appropriate manner, and early consultation with an appropriately qualified archaeologist is recommended. Proposals may be subject to a requirement for archaeological evaluation and permission may be subject to conditions or refused in exceptional cases.
The Historic Environment Record (HER) for Angus includes all sites of archaeological and historic interest which is maintained by Aberdeenshire Council Archaeology Service. The HER database is updated regularly with all new discoveries.
Those sites considered to be of national importance are known as Scheduled Monuments (SMs), they have legal protection and the schedule is maintained by Historic Environment Scotland (HES). The aim of scheduling is to preserve the most significant sites and monuments as far as possible in the form in which they have been passed down. It is a serious offence to interfere with these sites. Proposals affecting Scheduled Monuments will require Scheduled Monument Consent from Historic Environment Scotland, not Angus Council. All sites can be viewed on Pastmap.
While HES deals directly with all matters affecting scheduled monuments, scheduling does not affect ownership and the monument remains the property of its owner.
HES fulfil a stewardship role for some of the most important places in Scotland, these are known as ‘Properties in Care (PiC). Many of these are available to visit and further information can be found on the Visit Angus website.
Aberdeenshire Council Archaeology Service (ACAS) provide the archaeology service for Angus Council. This is via a Service Level Agreement.
ACAS's role is to:
- locate
- evaluate
- safeguard
- interpret
all archaeological sites in Angus.
They assess all Angus planning applications and advise when archaeological mitigation is required.