Construction

If you want to be on the safe side, you can ask the museum for an opinion in accordance with section 25 of the Museums Act early in the planning process. The museum must then within 4-6 weeks prepare a binding assessment of whether there are significant ancient monuments on the area.

If the museum can immediately assess that there are no significant archaeological interests in your area, you will receive an opinion in accordance with section 25 of the Museums Act on that basis.

If the museum does not consider that we can express ourselves with sufficient certainty on the basis of our maps and archives, we suggest that a archaeological preliminary investigation. Together with the archival control, it must form the basis for an assessment and a statement to you in accordance with Section 25 of the Museums Act.
It is you as the developer who decides whether the archaeological preliminary study should be carried out.

Here you can see how a good approach can be:

1. You are planning a construction work and therefore contact the museum by e-mail plan@vestmuseum.dk. In your e-mail, you request a statement in accordance with section 25 of the Museums Act and enclose information about the scope of the work as well as a detailed map appendix, so that we are not in doubt about where the work is to take place. If you have the opportunity, we will be happy to receive the card attachment as MapInfo files or similar. 
2. The museum carries out a check on maps and in archives to investigate whether there are registered ancient monuments on the area and / or that there is a risk that there may be hidden ancient monuments that will appear for a day when the construction work begins. If the museum can immediately assess that there is no significant archaeological interest in your area, you will receive a binding statement in accordance with section 25 of the Museums Act and the museum will close the case. 
3. If the museum deems it necessary to carry out an archaeological preliminary study before the binding opinion can be prepared, you will be contacted about this, as it is you as the developer who decides whether the preliminary study is to be carried out. However, you should be aware that in the event of a opt-out of a preliminary study, the museum cannot prepare the binding opinion.
   1. Is your total project area below the recommended 5000 m² the museum pays for the archaeological feasibility study.
   2. If your total project area is larger or it is located in a medieval city center, you must pay for the archaeological preliminary study yourself. In that case, the museum prepares a maximum budget, which is sent to the Palaces and Culture Agency for approval. When preparing the budget, we need to know the expected overall financial framework for your construction work, as the Palaces and Culture Agency uses the amount to assess whether you should have a grant for the feasibility study. Please note that the grant assessment takes place automatically and that the museum has no influence on it. After approval by the Palaces and Culture Agency, the budget is sent to you and only here do you assess whether the archaeological feasibility study should be carried out. 
4. If you choose to have the archaeological feasibility study carried out, the museum will, in collaboration with you, plan when the work will take place. Before the preliminary investigation can be started, you must do the following:
   1. Send an email approving the submitted budget and indicate if you want the area covered after the survey. Note that the budget is a maximum budget. This means that the feasibility study cannot be more expensive than budgeted. On the other hand, it may well become cheaper.
   2. Contact The line owner register and obtain information for the area on which the museum is to dig. You must send the information to the museum so that we can ensure that the work can be done without the risk of supply lines being dug over.
      The museum may, in agreement with you and against payment of the costs, offer to obtain this information. 
5. Make sure that the museum and the necessary excavator have unhindered access to the agreed area, as we cannot carry out surveys on areas that are not immediately accessible. 
6. The archaeological feasibility study typically takes place by the museum digging search trenches on the area with an excavator. Where we find ancient monuments or other structures, we may make. an extension so we can get an overview. The digging depth is typically the soil layer and the excavated soil is placed immediately next to the ditches. 
7. When the archaeological feasibility study is completed, you will receive a report with the results of the feasibility study with:
   1. A clear indication of the areas that are without significant ancient monuments and that you can therefore work on without the risk of encountering ancient monuments.
   2. Possibly areas with significant ancient monuments. Pursuant to section 27 of the Museums Act, they must be examined if construction work is to be carried out on site. See below. 
8. If there are significant ancient monuments on the area, the museum prepares a budget in the same way as for the preliminary study and sends it to you as the client after approval by the Palaces and Culture Agency. Based on the budget, you can now assess:
   1. Whether you want to carry out your construction work as planned - and thus approve the museum's excavation budget
   2. Or if you want to move the construction work to another location without significant ancient monuments, thus saving the cost of the archaeological excavation and leaving the ancient monuments for posterity.