PROPOSALS for a new Heritage Law, covering how objects and sites of archaeological significance will be reported, recorded, investigated and preserved, have been backed by the Assembly.
Members voted unanimously in support of the draft law put forward by Economic Development Minister Kirsten Morel following a series of short debates.
Progress towards the new law gathered pace in the wake of the discovery of the Câtillon II coin hoard in 2012, starting a complex series of negotiations which took almost a decade to resolve.
The new law is intended to provide a fair reward system for finders and landowners, while ensuring objects of national significance remain accessible to the public.
It is also intended to create a licensing system for any intrusive investigations in non-designated areas, such as the foreshore or seabed, and to provide a statutory footing for the Historic Environment record maintained by Jersey Heritage.
Deputy Morel said: “It is a sad truth that we will never know how much of this Island’s incredible heritage has been lost over the years, but going forward this law will ensure our heritage will be known, understood and recorded, at the very least.”
