Work

Last chance to see? The ‘Crisis of Preservation’ and pathways to a sustainable future for Europe’s peatland archaeology

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Despite repeated calls for action from various sources, peatland archaeological sites continue to deteriorate; the passive strategy of preservation in situ is failing. Here, the authors consider four challenges to peatland preservation—physical degradation, mapping and monitoring of sites, communication, and policy frameworks—with climate change ultimately causing further problems. Drawing on positive policy developments in England, they argue that advocacy for peatland archaeology needs to be louder and clearer: archaeology must become an integral consideration in all climate-change mitigation and land-use planning, rather than an afterthought, if the fragile heritage of European peatlands is to be preserved.

Source: Antiquity

DOI: 10.15184/aqy.2025.10255

Authors: Benjamin Gearey, Rosie Gearey, Benjamin Jennings, Roy van Beek

Institutions: University College Cork, Scotland's Rural College, University of Bradford, Wageningen University & Research

Language: English

Topic: Conservation Techniques and Studies

Subfield: Conservation

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Life on land, Climate action

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,550