This book traces the policy history of urban conservation and its relationship to the town planning process and both are set in their political context. Part One deals with the origins of conservation and its cultural background. Part Two deals with the post-war legislation and the increasing scope of conservation. Part Three deals with churches and their separate control system, and Part Four brings the story up to the present time. New issues such as sustainable conservation and the latest government policy are addressed in the conclusion. This book will aid current practice and help to inform future directions.

The origins of the Antiquities Act / Ronald F. Lee -- Edgar Lee Hewett and the politics of archaeology / Raymond Harris Thompson -- John F. Lacey : conservation's public servant / Rebecca Conard -- Landmark decision : the Antiquities Act, big-stick conservation, and the modern state / Char Miller -- Showdown at Jackson Hole : a monumental backlash against the Antiquities Act / Hal Rothman -- President Carter's coup : an insider's view of the 1978 Alaska monument designations / Cecil D. Andrus and John C. Freemuth -- The Antiquities Act and the exercise of presidential power : the Clinton monuments / Mark Squillace -- Antiquities Act monuments : the Elgin marbles of our public lands? / James R Rasband -- The foundation for American public archaeology : section 3 of the Antiquities Act of 1906 / Francis P. McManamon -- The Antiquities Act and historic preservation / Jerry L. Rogers -- The Antiquities Act at one hundred years : a Native American perspective / Joe E. Watkins -- The Antiquities Act and nature conservation / David Harmon -- The Antiquities Act meets the Federal Land Policy and Management Act / Elena Daly and Geoffrey B. Middaugh -- Co-managed monuments : a field report on the first years of Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument / Darla Sidles and Dennis Curtis -- Application of the Antiquities Act to the oceans : something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue / Brad Barr and Katrina Van Dine -- The Antiquities Act : a cornerstone of archaeology, historic preservation, and conservation / David Harmon, Francis P. McManamon, and Dwight T. Pitcaithley -- Appendix: essential facts and figures on the national monuments.

Much of England's rich archaeological heritage lies in the countryside. Many monuments, such as barrows, hillforts, and Roman villas, are familiar features fo the landscape, while other sites lie buried or only partly visible. These remains are the result of the impact on the landscape of the countless generations of people who have lived, worked and died within it. The cumulative effect is the landscape we know today, in which the historical dimension is an integral component of the valued whole and an important part of what most people in England are increasingly concerned to see protected and conserved. The archaeological heritage, however, is a finite and fragile resource, and much of it has been lost in the last two decades as a result of increasing pressures on farming, industry, and commerce to maximise the return on investment in the land. The conservation of what remains, therefore, needs to be given urgent consideration.This report has three main goals. First, it aims to present the background to the recognition, investigation, and management of the archaeological resource. Second, it attempts to review what is known of the resource, the threats currently posed to it, and the ways in which it can be exploited and conserved. Finally, it looks towards the development and promotion of a secure future for ancient monuments in the countryside.