ABSTRACT
From the late nineteenth century onwards, the authority of the state has played a significant role in shaping the view of Britain’s archaeological past, through the process of identifying selected monuments as being of ‘national importance’, and thus meriting protection under the ancient monuments legislation. Today, people are less ready to accept the ‘authorised’ view of the archaeological past, preferring to choose for themselves what kind of past they wish to believe in. This has implications for the role of the state archaeological official, who may have to change from being a figure of unquestioned authority to playing a role of facilitator in other people’s exploration of the past. Recent developments in the ‘heritage’ field in England seem to pre-figure a re-orientation of this kind.
