Management of furniture and excavation archives
The Regional Archaeological Service (SRA) is in charge of archaeological furniture, which is partly owned by the State, but can also be transferred to third parties, or deposited in museums. Furniture under the responsibility of the State and excavation archives are kept in archaeological repositories and Conservation and Study Centres (CEC).
The spectacular rise of preventive archaeology since the 1980s, has generated an impressive amount of archaeological furniture estimated at more than 5,500m3 in Hauts-de-France. Archaeological furniture now referred to as Movable Archaeological Property (BAM) refers to objects produced or processed by human activity; there is also scientific documentation, which covers various collections of natural and biological materials (relating to the animal and plant kingdom) and the human remains from the excavation of burials, but also all the archives of the excavation.
Ownership status of archaeological collections
From the law of 27 September 1941 regulating archaeological excavations until the Law no. 2016-925 of 7 July 2016 on freedom of creation, architecture and heritage (known as the CASL Act), movable archaeological property resulting from state and preventive excavations was divided by half between the owner(s) of the land and the state. The owner(s) was informed of their rights by a letter accompanying the shipment of the furniture inventory. In the event of a waiver or absence of a claim for a year, all the furniture belonged to the State. Otherwise, the SRA divided the furniture into two lots and proceeded to a draw, unless requested by the landowner that the lots be determined by an expert (the costs being at his expense). Since July 7, 2016, if the land has not changed owners, all the furniture belongs to the owner(s), who can (ven)t give it up. Otherwise, all the furniture belongs to the state. The objective of the new legislation is public appropriation.
Archaeological Repositories and Conservation and Study Centres
Archaeological furniture under the responsibility of the State must be preserved and transmitted to future generations. Initially, it was deposited in museums, which rarely had reserves of sufficient capacity. The furniture has accumulated in the archaeological repositories that were planned as temporary storage sites, while they were being studied. By the late 1990s, the need for specific long-term conservation sites became apparent. In 2001, the development of “visitable reserves of archaeological excavation furniture”, one per department, was included in the State-Region Plan (CPER) contract of Picardie. In 2008, the State introduced a Conservation and Study Centres ” (CEC), which must ensure optimal conservation and allow for the study of collections by researchers who so wish. In Hauts-de-France, the choice was made in favour of a departmental network of CCE in partnership with local authorities.
The CEC network and depots in Hauts-de-France
Three departmental-wide CEC were opened in 2008 in Ribemont-sur-Ancre (Somme, with the departmental council), 2012 in Soissons (Aisne, with the city) and 2013 in Dainville, near Arras (Pas-de-Calais, with the departmental council). A fourth is planned in Creil (Oise, with the departmental council). Two other intercommunal WTCs retain what comes from the territory of the group of communities concerned, since 2009 in Douai (North, with Douaisis Agglo) and 2011 in Vendeuil-Caply (Oise, with the community of communes of Oise picarde). Finally, there are state depots in Lille and Amiens, within the DRAC, three others in Beauvais and Creil, as well as state-controlled community depots (two in Amiens, one in Château-Thierry, Seclin and Valenciennes) and others in various museums.
Applications for loan of archaeological objects
The CEC network and depots in Hauts-de-France
As part of preventive archaeology, the State is the owner (50% or 100%) and responsible for the furniture discovered during archaeological operations. As such, it guarantees its study, conservation and valorization. It is therefore regularly solicited by museums and other institutions for the loan of archaeological objects for temporary exhibitions. These loan applications must be made via a loan application form (sent on request) and sent to the Regional Archaeology Service within three months before the opening date of the exhibition, accompanied by the list of objects, description of the security conditions of the exhibition site (facility report), the certificate of insurance (the insurance values are often determined by the SRA) and, where applicable, the authorizations of the owners of the land at the time of excavations (undivided co-owners of the furniture).
Archives and excavation
Excavation archives are all the documents and data produced during an archaeological site, whatever their form and support (paper, digital, text, survey, drawing, photography, database, etc.). For preventive operations, the excavation archives are handed over by the operator at the same time as the archaeological furniture. They should then be transferred to the departmental archives of the regional capital, but it is more scientifically consistent to keep them in the CEC, in order to make them available to researchers. For scheduled operations, the rules are more flexible: the person in charge does not have to hand over his archives of excavation (no more than the furniture that belongs to the owner of the land until 2016), but, many officials pay them.
Construction sites and archive collection
Archaeological collections and archives of recent excavations provided by operators are classified and inventoried according to a protocol. Payments prior to the 2000s often require repackaging, sorting, filing and inventory. The Regional Archaeology Service leads and coordinates these operations, largely financed by the DRAC, carried out by third parties, Communities or specialized providers. The old archives were rarely deposited before the beginning of the 2000s and a specific collection work is required to guarantee their safeguarding. Given the exponential growth of digital archives, their management and long-term preservation are major challenges
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