1st August 2013, 02:25 PM
Jack is right anyone who has had to put together an archaeological management plan or has undertaken condition surveys will have many horror stories to tell of the "accidental" damage done by well meaning owners and members of the public.
The one that comes to mind is the visiting foreign Shamen who decided to undertake a ritual involving a bonfire in the centre of a stone circle in Cumbria never occured to him that he needed permission or that it might possibly cause some damage. My bete noir is farmers with a JCB "tidying" up lumps and bumps in the ground (that's without going into the herrendous damage a wide range of agricultural practices can cause). Ever tried removing paint from a soft sandstone monument? best not to even try and definetly a case for a conservator before you even think about the chemicals and a wire brush solution!
The one that comes to mind is the visiting foreign Shamen who decided to undertake a ritual involving a bonfire in the centre of a stone circle in Cumbria never occured to him that he needed permission or that it might possibly cause some damage. My bete noir is farmers with a JCB "tidying" up lumps and bumps in the ground (that's without going into the herrendous damage a wide range of agricultural practices can cause). Ever tried removing paint from a soft sandstone monument? best not to even try and definetly a case for a conservator before you even think about the chemicals and a wire brush solution!