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Frontiers of the Roman Empire – Ripa Pannonica in Hungary (RPH) Nomination statement
5.j Staffing Levels (professional, technical, maintenance)
Law LXIV of 2001 on cultural heritage stipulates that the obligation to maintain sites of cultural heritage
is the responsibility of the existing owner. Due to the many sites and the varied types of ownership it
cannot be taken for granted that all of the owners have the appropriate expertise or experts on hand. In the
background of the law, upon which the protection is based and ensured by the organization established
for its management, is the existence of expertise at the individual sites.
The necessary human resources are on hand for the theoretical foundation and practical implementation
of the management of the sites. The most important scientific bases for the RPH are the Archaeology
Department of the University of Pécs and the National Office of Cultural Heritage. The leading museum
center for the conservation of Roman archaeological remains in Hungary is the Aquincum Museum of
the Budapest Museum of History (about 50,000 visitors annually) and the Hungarian National Museum
(over 500,000 visitors per year). The main professional supervision for archaeology is performed by the
National Office of Cultural Heritage. Any work on the protected lots is authorized and supervised by the
heritage preservation offices of the governmental offices.
In Hungary the excavation, recording, documenting and restoration of cultural sites occur within
the context of several national and regional institutions. These are the Archaeological Institute of the
Hungarian Academy of Sciences, The Art History Research Unit of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences,
the National Office of Cultural Heritage, the cultural heritage preservation offices for the capital city and
county governments, the system of county museums and the institutes of archaeology of the universities
In reality the organization entrusted with the supervision and management of the RPH sites is the RPH
Management and Development Trust, whose staff of experts (archaeologists, historic preservationists, urban
planners and agricultural experts) are from the Management and Development Board and the Supervisory
and Operational Offices.
These institutions have a sufficient base of experts in archaeology, architecture and art history.
The archaeologists, ethnographers, art historians, architects, urban planners, landscape architects and
regional planners comprise the main professional corps for heritage preservation and see to the range
of duties for rescuing, preserving and managing these special sites, assisted by a variety of experts in
engineering, information services and economics.
The experts at the institutes of higher learning do not only take part in teaching activities, but also
perform scientific, research and practical work.
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