Die Die LWL-Archäologie in Westfalen übt keine Fachaufsicht über archäologische Fachfirmen aus

Abstract

A contribution in the 100th DGUF newsletter of May 12, 2021, about the use of the term “technical supervision” in the press releases of the federal state LWL-Archaeology in Westphalia (Germany) triggered a reply from LWL-Archaeology. The addressed DGUF Chairs consider both the arguments put forward in the DGUF newsletter and the counter-statement to be highly relevant – also beyond North Rhine-Westphalia – which is why the texts are documented here and briefly classified in order to make them more sustainable and more accessible to the public. Broadly agreeing in terms of content, both contributions state that the term “technical supervision” is used in LWL-Archaeology detached from the clear legal meaning of the term. Justification: (1) The LWL-Archaeology in Westphalia has no regulatory means against executing excavation companies; (2) Excavation companies are not subordinate to the monument preservation authorities; (3) The LWL-Archaeology in Westphalia is not a regulatory agency and does not belong to the regulative administration. So it must not decide on the consequences and sanctions – rather, this is a task of the lower or upper monument protection authority. (4) The monitoring of archaeological measures on the part of LWL-Archaeology is a task specification in the context of advising and supporting the special regulatory authorities (lower and upper monument protection authorities). The clarification of the LWL lawyer should also apply to other federal states in Germany with similar legal regulations.