Whilst the archaeology of York itself is now catered for (funds permitting) by the Trust’s the area around is not so fortunate in the face of a variety of threats, some of which are well known in our experience at York, but others of which are peculiarly rural. The best provided district around York is the West Yorkshire metropolitan area, which contributes generously to an archaeological unit operating within its boundary. Approximately a year ago, the South Yorkshire local authority appointed an archaeologist to the staff of its department of Recreation, Culture and Health, but after this initial step in the right affection little else has been achieved. Most recently, at the start of October, a new county Archaeologist was appointed to the staff of the planning authority in North Yorkshire, based in Northallerton.

October 1975 was an apposite time for Rescue, the independent Trust for British Archaeology to hold a meeting at Northallerton to give a public airing to the problems and threats besetting the archaeology of this, the largest of the newly created local authorities, and to hear something of the respond these had evoked.

The meeting started with a brief introduction from Professor Barri Jones, secretary of Rescue, who charter that organisation’s progress during the five years of its existence. He listed some of its major achievements, and also stated some of the causes to which Rescue remains pledged, including the introduction of effective legislation to safeguard archaeological remains, and the establishment of a national archaeological service.

Mr J Cooper Kenyon, Chief Planning Officer for North Yorkshire, then outlined the range of problems in the county, and gave a brief account of the measures the planning office were taking to cater for archaeological research in the midst of other and sometimes conflicting priorities. He stressed the importance of having an archaeologist on the planning office staff, who would be able to get to grips with potential threats as they arose. This was echoed by the first incumbent of the newly created post, Mike Griffith, who also underlined the need for the collection of an archive containing records of all previous archaeological information garnered within the country.

York, whilst far and away the most important town in the area, is only one of many: the threat to other towns within North Yorkshire was pointed out three years ago by the Council for British Archaeology in its important study, The Erosion of History and Trust director, Peter Addyman directed the attention of his audience to the many possible lines of research at present being largely ignored through lack of resources. Against this it was comforting to hear a preliminary report on the work now being undertaken at Hull, in the adjoining Humberside region, by the new Archaeological Committee operation there under the direction of Ben Whitwell.

One of the most insidious threats to the archaeology of the countryside comes in the shape of afforestation which is being carried out by both government and commercial enterprise, since preparing the ground for tree planting usually involves heavy machinery which can obliterate monuments of some size with ease. Forestry companies and officials are usually most helpful in the question of preserving archaeological monuments once they know of their existence, but the problems of initial survey and then adequately marking out the limits of earthworks and other ephemeral structures were spelt out by former Rescue scholar Angela Jackson.

A brighter picture came from Roy Brown’s talk on the subject of Archaeology and the National Parks, for with the completion of a comprehensive survey of the monuments situated within the North Yorkshire Moors National Park, it may be that this is one of the most detailed area inventories in the country. Armed with this knowledge, the Park’s authorities are now turning attention to how best they may exploit their archaeological resources.

To end the proceedings Professor Jones gave an impressive demonstration of the uses of aerial photography to accomplish wide-arranging survey work.

What progress there will now be in the recording of archaeological remains within North Yorkshire cannot be predicted. Rescue hopes that it has increased local awareness of the problems which must be faced and overcome – the existence of a core of committed amateur enthusiasts is a vital starting point. Second only to becoming a Friend of York Archaeological Trust and subscribing to INTERIM, may we suggest that your interest express itself by a subscription to Rescue?

Editors: A.G. MacGregor, R.A. Hall, S.A.J. Bradley