Cath,
Although it takes us slightly away from the central discussion I
feel I must reply to your last posting!
An arbitary "cut off" date, after which archaeological sites are
deemed not worthy of recording, has certainly not been a policy of either of
the SMRs I have been directly involved in. In the past few years the SMR
community has moved towards a more holistic approach to records, with some
services even going so far as to rename their SMR to reflect its more
inclusive nature. Many SMRs also hold information on WWII sites, industrial
monuments and (post war) listed buildings. I do not believe that many SMR
people, resources permitting, are actually against recording these later
sites and I do not recall any FISHEN list member posting an objection to the
terms POST MEDIEVAL, EARLY MEDIEVAL and MODERN on the grounds of a lack of
relevance to current heritage record systems.
As far as the recording of post medieval sites on SMRs is concerned,
I think, to borrow a phrase from the popular New Labour song, "things will
only get better" and there will be an increasing need for agreed data
standard terms which can cover these records.
Nigel Pratt
Historic Buildings Records Officer
Essex Heritage Conservation Record (formerly known as Essex SMR).
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|