Are you starting a new project? Residential or commercial new builds, pre-1900s house repairs and services, road formations, trenching, subdivisions? If you plan to excavate, modify or destroy an archaeological site or its vicinity, you must meet the legal obligations before you start. Check our FAQ section for some specific questions and answers. Any works that involve disturbance of a known or possible archaeological site will require archaeological assessment first.

Angel’s Archaeology is an archaeological consultancy that provides complete services on the Heritage NZ Pouhere Taonga Act 2014 requirements and Resource Management Act 1991. While all archaeological sites are protected under the HNZPT Act 2014, local authorities have management responsibility for land use under the RM Act 1991. Archaeological values are also part of the definition of historic heritage. The Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act 2014 defines an archaeological site as a place associated with pre-1900 human activity where evidence relating to the history of New Zealand may be found. There are two types of archaeological sites: sites of Māori interest and sites linked to the pre-1900 European settlers in New Zealand. For every specific site, we will be able to guide you through the legal process and, if possible, to find a plausible solution to avoid or minimize the impact on the heritage within the site. This involves historical research, a check of the previous archaeological works in the area (New Zealand Archaeological Association Archsite database), and consultation with the local iwi if needed. Depending on the assessment findings done before the project begins, an application for an archaeological authority from Heritage New Zealand may be required. The archaeological authority for Heritage New Zealand will allow you to start your project, subject to some conditions, to make sure that the possible encounter with archaeological evidence will be handled properly. Three important parties are listed in the archaeological authority – Heritage New Zealand, the authority holder (usually the land owner or investor), and the approved archaeologist under Section 45 (of the HNZPT Act 2014). Only an archaeologist approved under Section 45 can be listed as project archaeologist in the archaeological authority, and the project can start only when a Section 45 archaeologist is assigned to the job. Section 45 has two sub-categories – for European and Māori sites. Angel Trendafilov from Angel’s Archaeology is approved for both.

Every archaeological authority granted by Heritage New Zealand has a number of conditions, like archaeological monitoring, excavation and recording of archaeological features, artifact analysis, and comprehensive archaeological reports, to name a few. Angel’s Archaeology responsibility is to fulfil these conditions within the outlined time frame and submit the final report to Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga. The submission and the acceptance of the archaeological report by Heritage New Zealand will close the granted authority, which is the end of the process. Angel’s Archaeology will ensure this process is stress-free and cost-effective for its clients.