Michael Strobel, Problems and perspectives of archaeological heritage management in intensively used agricultural landscapes – best-practice models from Saxony (Germany)

Nowhere else is there a creeping and slow destruction of archaeological monuments as in intensively used agricultural landscapes. Sites are still degraded by erosion, cultivation and pollutant inputs to the soil. But the implementation of concrete measures needs more than sensitive archaeological institutions. Without the cooperation with farmers, agricultural administrations, nature conservation agencies and organisations as well as the mobilisation of agro-environmental funds archaeologists will never achieve an efficient heritage management on intensively cultivated areas. In order to protect the rural archaeological heritage in Saxony, various strategies have been developed since 2000. The paper presents best-practice models of managing monuments in intensively used agricultural landscapes. The conversion of ploughed sites into grassland alongside with the application of precision farming systems are especially effective approaches to a better conservation of archaeological remains at risk.