TPermits are issued in accordance w

TPermits are issued in accordance with Heritage Council policies which ensure that disturbance of sites and ‘relics’ occurs in accordance with appropriate professional assessment, standards and procedures.

Section 139 prohibits the excavating or disturbing of land leading to a relic being discovered, exposed, moved, damaged or destroyed. To excavate and disturb land in the context of the NSW Heritage
Act is associated with the activity of digging or unearthing. The new definition also indicates that the ‘relic’ being exposed or disturbed is considered significant (or has the potential to be significant) at the
time of its excavation, removal or destruction.
In practice, an important historical archaeological site will be likely to contain a range of different elements as vestiges and remnants of the past. Such sites will include ‘relics’ of significance in the form
of deposits, artefacts, objects and usually also other material evidence from demolished buildings, works or former structures which provide evidence of prior occupations but may not be ‘relics’.
The value of the site and the elements within it must be assessed, documented and recognised so that correct future management choices are made. Before a site is excavated, the ‘relics’ within it are retained within the ground. This might lead to outcomes such as conservation insitu with interpretation, or archaeological excavation. After a site is excavated, ‘relics’ from it may form an in-situ display or an artefact collection which requires ongoing storage, curation and management.