ABSTRACT
In Norway, the protection of archaeological monuments and sites is a component of the general policy of environmental protection. The administrat ion of the Cultural Her itage Act i s coordinated by a subordinate agency of the Ministry of Environment, the Directorate for Cultural Her itage, previously called the Central Office of Histor ic Monuments and Sites. The Ministry of Environment is an important agency in the governmental affairs of Norway. For archaeology, being part of a relatively prestigious and visible element of the national Norwegian government is, concerning some archaeological issues, an advantage. Concerning others, however, in my opinion, it is a disadvantage. This chapter is not a simple tale of how wonderful it is to be part of the larger, happy, environmental family with sisters like the Directorate for Nature Management, the State Pollution Control Authority and the Norwegian Polar Research Institute, and how clever we are. Rather, I shall try to descr ibe the state of affairs from the point of view of an archaeologist working inside the system as a bureaucrat in the Directorate, a subordinate agency administrating the Cultural Heritage Act.1 I hope it will be clear that I am also deeply enmeshed in, and devoted to, archaeology as an academic university discipline, particularly the theoretical and ideational developments of archaeology. This includes questions and theoretical debates concerning the big ‘why’, ‘for whom’ and ‘how’ questions, that is questions of theory, ethics and method.
