Archaeology,conservation and the late twentieth-century village landscape: With particular reference to Westmorland and North Lancashire in northwest England

Abstract

This paper argues that the present landscape and village is of archaeological significance and is needed both to understand and to preserve a representative sample of the past. It explores the relationship between archaeological data and monument types, and landscape character. Landscape assessment, including attribute analysis, is advocated as an essential archaeological method separate from the process of value judgement and selectivity. It concludes that function and process are as important as period in determining conservation strategies, and the potential role of sustainable development is discussed. The importance of village plan forms, vernacular architecture, field and landholding patterns is stressed, together with the need to recognize the historical importance of industrial villages.