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In the popular imagination, archaeologists are either Indiana Jones-style zealots or meddlesome busybodies, hell-bent on stopping development at all costs. Although a common presence on construction projects, they鈥檙e not always a welcome one: when you鈥檙e trying to get something built quickly and with minimum fuss, they鈥檙e peering at the ground, eyes peeled for a precious artefact that will make their name 鈥� and possibly call a halt to the whole thing.

But it doesn鈥檛 have to be this way. Taryn Nixon, managing director of the Museum of London Archaeology Service and co-author of a good-practice guide on archaeology for developers, points out that the men and women who dig up our nation鈥檚 history are not working against construction, but with it. 鈥楢rchaeology is a modern, professional service, that鈥檚 matured an awful lot in the last decade. Archaeology is still seen as a very big risk on projects, but archaeologists are working hard to mitigate that,鈥� says Nixon.

Since 1990, archaeologists such as Nixon, CIOB ambassador Andrew Townsend and RICS member Michael Heaton have indeed been a key part of the development team. Planning guidance PPG16 made archaeological remains a material consideration when councils are granting planning permission, and gave developers responsibility for paying for investigating and preserving them.

Developer-funded archaeology 鈥� now worth up to 拢150m a year 鈥� means that 鈥榳orst-case scenarios鈥� are much less likely. Cast your mind back to 1989 and the discovery of the 16th century Rose Theatre on London鈥檚 Bankside during the construction of an office block. Little work had been done to investigate the site beforehand 鈥� if it had, perhaps the project team would not have found itself cast as the villains in a campaign that featured actors Dustin Hoffman and Dame Peggy Ashcroft.

Andrew Townsend, a project officer at Bristol & Region Archaeological Services, is particularly aware of the links between construction and archaeology. He spent 12 years as a surveyor, but some voluntary shifts on a local archaeological dig got him hooked and he decided to retrain. 鈥業 was worried I鈥檇 wasted 12 years but it鈥檚 the best thing that could have happened,鈥� he says. 鈥業 look at development proposals and make recommendations, on the types of foundation to be used, for example. For that you need a knowledge of both construction and archaeology.鈥�

Townsend believes his fellow archaeologists would benefit from a better understanding of the construction process. 鈥業 think you should learn about construction as well when you鈥檙e studying archaeology,鈥� he says. 鈥榃e have to work alongside each other, so I鈥檇 like to see construction and archaeology on the same team rather than two separate entities.鈥�

Michael Heaton not only agrees with that, but is trying to promote construction-style pricing in his first profession. Heaton, who runs an archaeological consultancy covering south-west England, returned to university to study building surveying and now applies measured working to his contracts. 鈥楩ew archaeologists understand anything about contracts, but we鈥檙e expected to price for complex works on a simple lump sum or a day rate basis. But I look at how much of each deposit you excavate, with allowances for different types of fill. On a major site, clients don鈥檛 want to see time sheets 鈥� you want to know what the money鈥檚 been spent on,鈥� he says.

Adopting such practices and rewriting all standard forms to include archaeology clauses would, Heaton says, help integrate archaeologists into the construction team alongside other groundworks specialists. The Institute for Archaeologists, which the trio belong to, is working alongside contractors and engineers on the ICE鈥檚 Site Investigations Special Interest Group to facilitate this.

Early integration into the construction team is something of a mantra for Nixon, Townsend and Heaton. According to Nixon鈥檚 book, the costs of dealing with discoveries rises the later in the process they occur. 鈥業f you鈥檙e planning a development, you try to think through all the things that could happen. We鈥檙e trying to give clients certainty by assessing and analysing risk from day one as part of due diligence.鈥�

We are absolutely tied to the ups and downs of the construction industry

Taryn Nixon

Far from being a romantic occupation, the first step usually involves a desk-based trawl through existing information about a site 鈥� published studies, old maps or plans of Victorian cellars, for example. Only if the initial assessment reveals a chance of something interesting will the digging start, in a few exploratory trenches at first, or with an archaeologist maintaining a watching brief as construction begins 鈥� literally standing on site watching as the diggers get to work.

Most finds will have to be 鈥榩reserved by record鈥� 鈥� documented, drawn and photographed before they are removed or covered up. What developers really fear is 鈥榩reservation in situ鈥�, where a discovery is of national significance. In that case, plans will have to be altered or completely halted, as in the case of the Rose Theatre. Archaeologists stress that such situations are very rare, and in any case, it is the council planners who make the decision 鈥� they simply present the evidence to them on behalf of the developers.

They are also rushing to meet the same deadlines as everyone else. 鈥楢rchaeology is about going as fast as is practical,鈥� says Nixon. 鈥楶eople often say 鈥測ou must have to be very patient鈥�, but actually we use earthmoving equipment and pick axes as much as trowels.鈥�

But amidst all the bureaucracy and deadlines, there is still room for a flavour of Indiana Jones. One of Townsend's favourite digs is the Fezzan Project in southern Libya, which he has been helping to excavate since 2000. 鈥業t鈥檚 basically a walled caravan town in the heart of the Sahara desert. On one side there鈥檚 the oasis and on the other, golden sand dunes. It鈥檚 very remote.鈥� The archaeologists are part of a multidisciplinary team of scientists onsite 鈥� an echo of the teamwork Townsend enjoys on construction projects. 鈥楾hat makes it extra special,鈥� he says.

Heaton鈥檚 specialism is archaeological surveys of historical buildings for developers seeking listed building consent. One recently completed project is Tyntesfield House in Somerset, now owned by the National Trust.

鈥業 try to stay out of the ground,鈥� he jokes. 鈥榊ou have to bend over and it often gets wet!鈥�

Archaeology has expanded rapidly over the past decade to meet demand fuelled by the construction boom. Now though, it is feeling the downside of their linked fortunes, with fears that lack of employment could lead to a 鈥榖rain drain鈥� from the profession.

In future, Nixon hopes to persuade developers to carry out the archaeological studies of sites before they start planning new buildings for the upturn. 鈥楧evelopers with planning permission with an archaeological condition attached could demolish rather than pay empty rates tax, and negotiate with archaeologists under less time pressure. They鈥檇 get the value back in resale too, because the land would be free of archaeological risk.鈥�

If the developers do take the bait, perhaps the construction industry could also benefit. Not only would the danger of unexpected discoveries be avoided when development begins anew, but the sight of digging on desolate sites could herald those first green shoots of recovery we鈥檙e all so desperate to see. As Nixon says: 鈥榃e are absolutely tied to the ups and downs of the construction industry. We follow the cycles and quite often, we鈥檙e a barometer as we鈥檙e among the first in the ground.鈥� cm