National Occupational Standards in
Archaeological Practice
Unit AB2 Propose and agree project methods
AB2.1 Identify project requirements
Performance Required
This will involve:
- identifying from the project brief what tasks must be carried out, by whom and confirming these with the client
- identifying and prioritising all relevant factors relating to the project which will require consideration
- identifying relevant sources of data and selecting appropriate methods to achieve project objectives
- identifying appropriate project quality assurance and safety requirements
Occupational Context
- Projects may include:
- desk-based studies
- field investigations of sites and landscapes
- artefact studies
- interpretive projects
- educational projects
- Factors relating to the project:
- Archaeological and cultural factors:
- archaeological context
- cultural context
- historical context
- research frameworks and agendas
- conventions, charters, guidelines
- Regulatory factors:
- planning regulations
- health and safety regulations
- archaeological policy and guidance
- scheduled ancient monument status
- designed landscape status
- conservation area status
- listed building status
- other non-statutory guidelines
- Sources of data may include:
- site and site context
- archive records, reports, research publications
- site owners / occupiers
- statutory authorities, utilities
- government departments
- consultative bodies
- Methods:
- documentary
- statistical
- comparative
- experimental
- investigative
Knowledge Requirements
You need to know and understand how to:
Level of investigation
- Establishing the appropriate type and level of investigation
You need to know about:
Methods of investigation
- What appropriate methods of investigation to employ in the context of different projects:
- Relevant physical aspects of sites and their environs (for field projects)
- Relevant archaeological, historical and cultural factors and constraints
- Regulatory factors
Types of quality assurance and safety requirements
Required Skills
You should demonstrate:
- How to communicate with clients – orally and in writing – to ascertain which investigations are needed for each stage of the project
- How to carry out research to discover all relevant information about the site
- Which methods of investigation would be most appropriate for the project at hand
- How to schedule investigations
- How to budget work to be done
- How to communicate with other interested parties to request their co-operation
- That personnel involved in the investigations are suitably qualified
- That all personnel are aware of their legal and contractual obligations
- How to carry out research from documentary sources
- Taking expert advice
- How to Interpret technical data and reports
Evidence Required
You must provide documentary evidence that you have:
- accurately identified what investigations must be carried out and by whom
- agreed with the client a feasible schedule for investigation and estimated agreed associated time and costs
You will produce supporting documentary evidence that, in doing so, you have:
- identified and prioritised all relevant factors which will require investigation
- selected appropriate methods for investigation and data sources
- provided third parties, who will be affected, with clear and accurate information and requested their co-operation
- verified, where investigation is commissioned from others, that investigators are competent
Evidence Rules
- Your evidence must be from the result of work activities carried out by yourself on at least two significant projects.
This site will look best in a browser that supports web standards, but is accessible to any browser or Internet device.
TORC is a service of the Archaeology Training Forum, operated by the Council for British Archaeology and supported by English Heritage.
Today's date: 3/9/2010
This page last updated:
27/7/2007 16:17
