SUSTAINABILITY

FEATURES
Managing the historic environment
on the Defence estate in Wales
significance. Only a small number of
ancient monuments (37) and historic
buildings (7) are legally protected;
Cadw, the Welsh Government’s historic
environment service’s designation
programme will increase this number
over time.
Brownslade barrow skeleton excavation © Crown
A key difference between historic and
natural environment concerns is that
archaeological remains are a finite and
non-renewable resource, which in
many cases are highly fragile and
vulnerable to damage and destruction.
Unlike many aspects of the natural
environment, archaeological sites
cannot recover; once they have been
destroyed, the archaeological
information has gone and cannot be
retrieved or re-constituted.
The UK Defence estate is enormously
rich in historic and natural environment
assets. Shaped by the activities of past
generations, the people of Wales have
inherited a unique and constantly
encountered historic environment that
contributes to a sense of place and
helps to define Wales as a nation. The
importance and added value of this
heritage continues to be recognised,
managed and appreciated by the
Ministry of Defence.
As of 2014 the UK Defence estate
comprised 228,000ha of land and
foreshore and the MOD held rights
over a further 204,900ha. In total this
represents 1.8% of the UK land mass.
Approximately 19,070ha of this land is
located in Wales.
and training areas. Typically this is
undeveloped land that has not been
subjected to intensive agricultural
improvement. Consequently, the
survival, diversity and extent of the
known archaeological remains is of
enhanced archaeological significance
and value.
The Defence estate in Wales
collectively preserves many thousands
of individual historic environment
assets. Individual elements on their
own may seem insignificant, but
collectively they are of great
The typical archaeological site types
of traditional archaeology on the
Defence estate such as Bronze Age
round barrows and Iron Age hillforts
tend to be incredibly well preserved.
The 2004 Sanctuary Award winning
excavation at Brownslade Barrow,
Castlemartin revealed exceptional
funerar y and agricultural evidence.
Protection from development is one
reason for this occurrence, but of
greater importance are the significant
efforts undertaken by the MOD to
proactively monitor and manage
these monuments.
Around a third of the total estate
is classed as ‘built’ and includes
airfields, bases, offces, facilities
and accommodation. Those sites
that have been occupied for a long
duration usually possess a strong
and important military heritage
identity. The remainder comprises
of ‘rural’ estate and includes ranges
Sennybridge Star protecting an Iron Age hill fort © Pete Telfer
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Sanctuary 44 • 2015