Dare to Choose

The archaeological discipline puts effort into achieving the greatest possible scientific added value and supporting the potential values of archaeological heritage for society. However, choices have to be made at different stages and levels of archaeological heritage management process. Several interests are at play when making these choices: science, society, financial, legal and logistical possibilities, public support. Choices are based on the weighing up of different factors such as values, interests and practical opportunity.

A call to action for Europe's archaeology was set out in the Amersfoort Agenda (EAC Occasional Paper No. 10). It identifies the subject of 'decision-making' (theme 2, 'Dare to Choose') as one of the three key themes in meeting the current challenges facing archaeological heritage management in Europe.

The symposium comprised three sessions exploring the various heritage management challenges under the topics of 'The Decision Making Mechanisms', 'Research Questions for Excavations' and 'The Involvement of Society'. This volume is a collection of 15 extended abstracts related to the 22 presentations given in Athens. An online volume has been published in Internet Archaeology http://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue49/index.html with open access to a collection of fuller papers which expand further upon these these themes.