How do I Apply for an Excavation Licence?
Please complete the Excavation Licence Application Form. Completed forms can be emailed to us at: licensingsection@housing.gov.ie
Ensure the following items are included with your application:
- A detailed Method Statement
- A Letter of Funding, on headed paper and properly signed (a template is supplied as an appendix to the application form)
- A copy of the planning conditions (where the works for which the licence is required relate to a planning permission)
The Method Statement should include (as a minimum) the following information:
- Summary of the proposed excavation, and details of purpose and duration
- Site description, including topography and present condition, as well as any relevant past usages
- Relevant background information including (but not limited to):
- local archaeological and historical context for the site
- planning background and development description (if applicable)
- research aims and objectives
- Excavation strategy, including (but not limited to):
- size and extent of excavation site/cuttings/trenches (as appropriate)
- excavation methods, including in particular any intended use of mechanical equipment
- survey and recording methods
- finds retrieval strategy
- sampling strategy
- constraints on archaeological methods
- health and safety requirements and/or restrictions
- Excavation programme, outlining expected duration of any/all phases of on-site work
- Project team and structure, including on-site personnel, specialists and conservator
- Storage arrangements for finds/samples/archives
- Reporting strategy, including delivery dates
- Mapping and illustrations, including (but not limited to):
- site location map: OSi map (1:5000) for rural areas and (1:1000) for urban area (or appropriate equivalent)
- relevant historical mapping
- site plan (scaled), showing clearly the location, extent and layout of the proposed excavation
- plan of proposed development (if applicable)
Your applications should be submitted at least 3 WEEKS before the archaeological works are due to commence, to allow us time to assess and process the application.
A standard set of conditions is contained in the excavation licence application form, for information purposes only. A licence, if granted, will include these conditions as well as any other site-specific conditions or restrictions that are deemed appropriate. The licence holder has the legal responsibility for ensuring that all conditions of the licence are adhered to correctly.
How can I update the Methodology for an Excavation Licence?
All archaeological works carried out on-site must be in accordance with the agreed method statement that forms part of the approved application. However, changes in circumstances can occur prior to or after the commencement of on-site works, which require changes in the agreed method. Where this happens, an updated archaeological method statement must be submitted for approval. Circumstances that might trigger such an update include (but are not limited to):
- Alterations to a trenching array (for example to avoid services or protected wildlife)
- Enlargement of an excavation area
- Use of mechanical tools or alteration in use of mechanical tools or type of mechanical tool
- Changes to primary on-site recording methods
- Discovery of new archaeological material (for example during archaeological monitoring)
- Discovery of unanticipated human remains
The updated method statement, describing all changes to the excavation strategy in full, and supported by appropriate mapping and illustration, must be submitted to the National Monuments Service by email to: licensingsection@housing.gov.ie
Please ensure that the licence number is included in the subject line of your email and clearly indicated on the title page of the document.
The updated method statement must be reviewed and agreed with the National Monuments Service prior to any activities it describes occurring on-site.
How do I Extend/Reactivate an Excavation Licence?
All licences are issued for a fixed duration. If the planned programme of works permitted under the licence cannot be completed within the expected timeframe and works need to continue at the site, the licence holder must apply for the licence to be extended. Requests for extensions must be submitted before the end-date of the current licence.
If a licence has expired, the licence holder can request that the licence be reactivated. This may be necessary to complete the original planned programme of works or for an additional phase of archaeological works to be undertaken at the same site or location.
Requests for extensions or reactivations can be sent by email to: licensingsection@housing.gov.ie
Ensure that the licence number is included in the subject line of your email.
Can an Excavation Licence be Transferred?
If the original archaeologist to whom a licence was issued can no longer carry out the planned programme of on-site works either in whole or in part, then the licence can be transferred to another archaeologist. Licences should only be transferred when or if there is still on-site fieldwork to complete.
Note: A licence transfer is still subject to the same compliance checks as a new licence application. The person to whom the licence will transfer must be licence eligible and must be in ‘good standing’ at the time the transfer is requested. Once a transfer has been completed, the incoming licence holder becomes legally responsible for ensuring that all conditions of the licence are adhered to correctly. They assume responsibility for any archaeological objects, ecofacts, archives and reporting requirements that may be outstanding from any phases of work carried under the licence but prior to their accepting the transfer. It is the responsibility of the archaeologist accepting the transfer to satisfy themselves as to the character and status of these matters prior to completing the transfer application.
Both archaeologists must jointly complete and sign the Transfer of Licence Form, which can then be emailed to: licensingsection@housing.gov.ie
Ensure that the licence number is included in the subject line of the email and that an updated Funding Letter is included in the name of the archaeologist seeking to take over the licence.
If there are any changes to the previously approved methodology, scope of works or excavation area, an updated method statement must accompany the licence transfer request. Otherwise, the incoming licence-holder is expected to conduct works according to the original agreed method statement.
What are the conditions for Cancelling an Excavation Licence?
When a licence holder becomes aware that works for which a licence has been obtained will not take place, they should contact the National Monuments Service as soon as possible, to notify us and request a cancellation of the licence. Failure to promptly cancel a licence that is no longer needed can lead to delays in processing any on-going or future licence application from the same applicant. Licences can only be cancelled if none of the works/activities permitted under the licence have occurred. If any works (however limited in scope) have occurred, then the normal reporting and archiving requirements to close out a licence still apply.
Requests for cancellation can be sent by email to: licensingsection@housing.gov.ie; please ensure that the licence number is included in the subject line.