Preventive archaeology

The objective of preventive archaeology is to document sites threatened with destruction by development projects. The prescriptions are issued by the Regional Archaeological Service (SRA) according to the impact of the development on the remains. In this context, the SRA of the Direction of Cultural Affairs (DAC) is placed under the authority of the Prefect of the Guadeloupe region, also representative of the State in the overseas communities of Saint-Barthélemy and Saint-Martin. It receives and investigates development files under archaeology. By prefectorial decree, the SRA issues prescriptions for preventive operations, diagnostics and excavations. He is also in charge of the scientific and technical control (CST) of operations during the field and then study phases. Finally, at the end of the studies, the SRA receives the final operation report, archaeological remains and scientific documentation. The SRA sends these files to the Territorial Commission for Archaeological Research (CTRA Overseas).

Preventive archaeology has two types of operations with quite distinct objectives: diagnosis and excavation.