{"id":363,"date":"2026-08-07T16:25:53","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T15:25:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/quest\/?page_id=363"},"modified":"2026-08-12T15:55:56","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T14:55:56","slug":"desk-based-assessments","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/quest\/desk-based-assessments\/","title":{"rendered":"Desk-based Assessments"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Providing the evidence base needed to inform planning decisions before intrusive archaeological work begins. Archaeological desk-based assessments typically include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Review of existing information \u2013 examining historic maps, geological maps, previous archaeological investigations, aerial photographs, LiDAR data, Historic Environment Records (HERs), published literature, and other relevant datasets to establish the archaeological and geoarchaeological potential of a site.<\/li>\n<li>Assessment of archaeological potential \u2013 identifying known and potential archaeological remains, palaeoenvironmental deposits, and geoarchaeological resources that could be affected by a proposed development.<\/li>\n<li>Recommendations for further work \u2013 advising whether additional investigations, such as geophysical survey, geoarchaeological boreholes, trial trenching, environmental sampling or specialist analyses, are likely to be required.<\/li>\n<li>Reporting to planning standards \u2013 producing a formal report suitable for submission to support discussions with the Local Planning Authority and archaeological advisors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Providing the evidence base needed to inform planning decisions before intrusive archaeological work begins. Archaeological desk-based assessments typically include: Review of existing information \u2013 examining historic maps, geological maps, previous&#8230;<a class=\"read-more\" href=\"&#104;&#116;&#116;&#112;&#115;&#58;&#47;&#47;&#114;&#101;&#115;&#101;&#97;&#114;&#99;&#104;&#46;&#114;&#101;&#97;&#100;&#105;&#110;&#103;&#46;&#97;&#99;&#46;&#117;&#107;&#47;&#113;&#117;&#101;&#115;&#116;&#47;&#100;&#101;&#115;&#107;&#45;&#98;&#97;&#115;&#101;&#100;&#45;&#97;&#115;&#115;&#101;&#115;&#115;&#109;&#101;&#110;&#116;&#115;&#47;\">Read More ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1259,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"__cvm_playback_settings":[],"__cvm_video_id":"","footnotes":""},"coauthors":[18],"class_list":["post-363","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8.1 - 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