§ Ms AthertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to protect(a) underground, (b) overground and (c) underwater archaeological sites in Cornwall. [96584]
§ Dr. HowellsThe remains of the past, whether above ground, underground or underwater are currently identified and protected by a framework of designation regimes. This includes the listing of buildings of special architectural and historic merit, the scheduling of ancient monuments and the designation of conservation areas and historic wreck sites. Separate systems also exist for the identification of historic parks, gardens and battlefields and for the inscription of World Heritage Sites.
§ Ms AthertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what action she has taken regarding archaeological sites in Cornwall in the last five years. [96822]
HowellsDuring the last five years nearly 200 sites in Cornwall have been designated as Scheduled Ancient Monuments, ranging from prehistoric burial mounds to 19th century mining remains associated with the tin industry. A Scheduled Monument comprises of one or more individual archaeological items, and in the case of these Cornwall monuments, 572 separate archaeological items have been protected.
English Heritage has additionally undertaken evaluation work to identify nationally important 20th century military sites, industrial monuments and 58W bridges in Cornwall, as well as throughout England. This work has contributed to our understanding of such archaeological sites and has identified sites for statutory designation in Cornwall. There has also been increasing involvement in more recent years with the World Heritage Site bid for Cornish Mining and a programme to protect nationally important mining remains within the selected bid areas is under way.
§ Ms AthertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on her policy on the protection of underwater wrecks that are of archaeological interest. [96586]
§ Dr. HowellsThe Department's responsibility for underwater archaeology primarily extends to administering the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 in England and designating wrecks off English waters under the Act. It is the Department's policy to protect the best examples of our underwater heritage while encouraging greater access to it. To achieve this, we seek to work constructively with both the archaeological and diving communities, and to encourage co-operation between the two groups.