Archaeological Resource Management: The Changing Role of the State

Introduction

In the United Kingdom (as in many other countries) the state, from the end of the Second World War onwards, played a dominant role in investigating, protecting, and presenting the nation’s archaeological heritage. Now, in very many areas of life, the role of the state, and the relationship between citizen and state, is changing. Archaeology, and also heritage protection more generally, are affected by this in a variety of ways. The way in which state archaeological organizations operate in the future may be rather different than it has been in the past.

Key Issues/Current Debates/Future Directions/Examples

In 1945, immediately following the end of the Second World War, the Labour Party came into government in the United Kingdom, following a “landslide” victory in a general election. This marked the beginning of a phase of history in which, under the so-called “welfare state” philosophy, central government played an increasingly dominant role in many different areas of the...