Internet Archaeol 15. Paul Gilman. Research frameworks

1.7 Research frameworks

Many archaeologists have long recognised the need for a framework for regional archaeological research and are responding positively to the English Heritage recommendation for the publication of research frameworks. These documents provide a structure within which decisions can be taken on the protection, management and recording of the archaeological resource at local levels and relate national strategies to those needs. SMRs can play an important role in the development of research frameworks as repositories for data to support resource assessments, and as a source of information to support research projects. Recent examples are the East Anglian Framework (Glazebrook 1997 and Brown 2000) and the Greater Thames Estuary Research Framework (Williams and Brown 1999), which provide an assessment of the archaeological resource of the region and highlights areas where SMR enhancements or links between neighbouring SMRs need to be developed.