Archaeology and scheduled monuments
Appointing an archaeologist
In many cases, you'll need to employ professional archaeological assistance for your development as the archaeology of Southwark is complex, requiring a sound understanding of archaeological research objectives and multi-phase urban stratigraphy. We're unable to provide an approved list of archaeologists, but recommend the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists Registered Organisation scheme.
This scheme is an industry-based quality assurance scheme where commercial organisations are peer reviewed and assessed to ensure they're undertaking work to industry-standard guidance, codes of conduct and bylaws. When you employ a registered organisation, you can be confident it's been assessed and found to be professional and accountable.
To ensure you appoint an archaeologist who can demonstrate a suitable level of knowledge and experience, we advise that you ask the potential archaeologist the following questions:
- does the organisation have a London address
- do they employ staff who work predominantly on London's archaeology
- can they demonstrate the successful completion of, at least, three projects in Southwark or comparable sites within Greater London (you can confirm the successful discharge of archaeological conditions by searching our Planning Register)
- can the organisation confirm that their recording and archiving systems correspond to those generally used across London
If an organisation hasn't worked in Southwark before, it will be necessary for their site recording systems to be examined and approved by our Archaeological Officer.
Page last updated: 22 November 2023
