Archaeology at the DRAC Occitanie
All remains and other traces of the existence of humanity, including the preservation and study, including excavations or discoveries, constitute elements of the archaeological heritage, allow us to trace the development of the history of humanity and its relationship with the natural environment» (art. L510-1 of the Heritage Code).
Archaeology in Drac
The archaeology sector in Drac is taken over by the regional archaeology service | SRA, a product of a long administrative history that precedes the creation of the department on which it depends today. It is indeed the decree of September 13, 1945, made for the application of the law of September 27, 1941 relating to archaeological excavations, which creates in France archaeological circumscriptions (Prehistory and History) and entrust them with the mission of administering archaeological research.
In the late 1980s, the amalgamation of the two electoral districts into a regional archaeology service was a profound change. These services are gradually seeing their missions evolve to the rhythm of the awareness of the fragility of cultural heritage relevant to archaeology.
The need to carry out protection and safeguard actions is then gradually imposed in the minds and then in the regulations specific to soil and environmental rights.
Armed with resources since 1981, the SRA conducts a militant policy which nevertheless suffers from the absence of a clear legislative framework.
France’s 1995 ratification of the European Convention of Malta for the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage (see opposite), convince the public authorities to incorporate in French law this concern of conservation and safeguard. The law was promulgated in January 2001 and now provides the legal framework for the practice of preventive archaeology and its financing.
The SFA is the regional referent for any questions related to archaeology. Its missions, essentially contained in Book V of the Heritage Code, are based on a triptych, each part of which is based on a scientific expertise approach:
The approach underlying and legitimate all these actions is resolutely part of a diachronic perspective of the rational and economical development of the territory and its cultural equipment.
Overview of archaeological heritagee regional
The archaeological heritage, as defined by the Wealth code includes as well the remains buried in the ground as the architectures in elevation, the oldest traces left by Man as the recent industrial heritage, the objects manufactured by Man as the marks he printed in his environment.
In the light of this reality, we measure the potential and real wealth as well as the diversity of cultural heritage of interest to archaeology in a territory as vast and contrasted as the Occitanie region.
The regional archaeological map To date, more than 27,000 sites have been identified for the last million years. The corresponding database (Patriarche) is enriched each year, notably thanks to prospecting operations supported by the State and archaeological inventory programs conducted in partnership with local authorities.
The overview given here by a series of films made over the years by the association Archaeology with the support of the Drac, does not aim at presenting all the themes of regional archaeology or archaeological operations conducted in recent years. It aims more modestly to illustrate, through a choice of files, the richness and diversity of the regional heritage that interests archaeology.
Contacts
See section Directory and organization chart