ABSTRACT
So often, when reflecting on the essential characteristics of the archaeological resource, great play is made of features such as rarity, fragility, vulnerability, or the finite nature of the remains that we have to deal with. These are the kind of characteristics that Planning Policy Guidance note 16 (Department of the Environment 1990) focuses our attention upon. But there are other characteristics that must also be considered, among them the matters of culturally attributed meaning and value. Both meaning and value subsist through socially contrived relationships between understanding and social action. Both represent a basis for emotional commitment to the material that, as archaeologists, we are interested in. And both have implications which carry through into comparative reflexes most apparent during the decision-making that is an everyday experience in the field of archaeological resource management.
