Historic Environment Records - Scotland

HERs (Historic Environment Records) developed out of SMRs (Sites and Monuments Records). SMRs were established from the 1960s onwards in response to the loss of the archaeological resource through urban and rural development. The expansion of SMR/HERs to almost full UK-wide cover by 2004 was driven largely by their role in land-use planning, which expanded after formal government guidance was issued in the early 1990s: in Scotland this comprised 'National Planning Policy Guideline 5 (NPPG 5)' and 'Planning Advice Note (PAN) 42 Archaeology - the Planning Process and Scheduled Monument Procedures' (these were first issued in 1994 and have been regularly reviewed and updated ever since). The protection and enhancement of the historic environment is a key policy of NPF4 (Policy 7), which states that development proposals should be informed by reference to HERs.

From their original remit of recording archaeological sites, HERs have been developed to encompass a wide range of information about the historic environment which has been reflected in their change of name from SMR. Today they provide a unique information resource, forming the basis for sustainable conservation and playing an important role in informing public understanding and enjoyment of the local historic environment. The historic environment includes all aspects of our surroundings that have been built, formed, or influenced by human activities from earliest to most recent times. The HER stores, and provides access to, systematically organised information about these surroundings in a given area. It is maintained and updated for public benefit in accordance with national and international standards and guidance.

An HER makes information accessible to all in order to:
• advance knowledge and understanding of the historic environment.
• inform its care and conservation.
• inform public policies and decision-making on land use planning and management.
• contribute to environmental improvement and economic regeneration.
• contribute to education and social inclusion, and
• encourage participation in the exploration, appreciation, and enjoyment of the historic environment.

Most Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) maintain records of the historic (archaeological, built, and occasionally natural) environment. Some LPAs group together to collate their standardised records. Specialist staff and archaeological services (e.g., the West of Scotland Archaeology Service) curate these records and also to provide specialist advice for land-use planning and public information services.

A few LPAs do not collate or curate an HER for their areas. Historic environment data hosted on the Spatial Hub for these LPA areas (listed below) is taken from the Canmore database, maintained by Historic Environment Scotland (HES).

It is important to note that Canmore data is not equivalent to HER data. HER data are spatially defined and dynamically curated to be relevant to land use management and historic change over time, while Canmore at its core is a spatial index to the archive holdings of HES in various formats. Therefore, Canmore-derived data should not be used for land management or planning purposes due to its fundamental difference from HER data.

This dataset has two distinct data layers:

• Historic Environment Sites (i.e., known locations and extents of archaeological monuments, features, historic buildings, and findspots, as well as Areas of Archaeological Interest; places known, or likely, to be particularly rich in archaeological features)

• Historic Environment Events (i.e., archaeological investigations and excavations, historic building surveys, environmental impact assessments etc.)

We strongly recommend that, when using the WFS for this dataset, because of its size you should use it with a filter.

LPAs using Canmore data:

• City of Edinburgh
• Dundee
• Falkirk
• Fife
• Inverclyde
• North Lanarkshire
• Orkney Islands

HERs（历史环境记录）源于SMRs（遗址和纪念物记录）。自20世纪60年代起，SMRs应城市和乡村发展导致的考古资源损失而设立。到2004年，SMR/HERs几乎覆盖了整个英国，这一扩展主要得益于它们在土地利用规划中的角色，该角色在1990年代初正式政府指导方针发布后得到扩展：在苏格兰，这包括《国家规划政策指南5（NPPG 5）》和《规划建议书42：考古学——规划程序和预定纪念物程序》（这些指南首次于1994年发布，并自那时起定期审查和更新）。保护与提升历史环境是NPF4（政策7）的关键政策，该政策指出，开发提案应参考HERs。从最初记录考古遗址的职责出发，HERs已发展成为涵盖历史环境广泛信息的资源，其名称从SMR的变更也反映了这一点。如今，它们提供了一种独特的信息资源，构成了可持续保护的基础，并在增进公众对当地历史环境的理解与欣赏中发挥着重要作用。历史环境包括从最早到最近时期人类活动所构建、形成或影响的我们周围的所有方面。HER存储并提供对这些周边环境的系统化信息，并根据国家及国际标准和指南，为了公共利益进行维护和更新。

HER旨在使信息对所有人均可获取，以：
• 推进对历史环境的认知与理解。
• 指导其养护与保护。
• 指导公共政策和土地利用规划与管理决策。
• 促进环境改善和经济复兴。
• 促进教育与社会融合，
• 鼓励参与历史环境的探索、欣赏与享受。

大多数地方规划当局（LPAs）维护历史环境（考古、建筑，偶尔是自然）的记录。一些LPAs联合起来收集他们的标准化记录。专业人员和考古服务机构（例如，西苏格兰考古服务机构）负责这些记录的编纂，并提供土地利用规划和公众信息服务方面的专业建议。

少数LPAs不编纂或编纂其区域的HER。这些LPA区域的地理空间中心历史环境数据（以下列出）来自由苏格兰历史环境局（HES）维护的Canmore数据库。

值得注意的是，Canmore数据并不等同于HER数据。HER数据在空间上定义，并根据土地利用管理和历史变化的动态编纂，而Canmore的核心是HES各种格式的档案收藏的空间索引。因此，由于其根本区别于HER数据，不应将Canmore衍生数据用于土地管理或规划目的。

此数据集有两个不同的数据层：

• 历史环境遗址（即已知考古纪念物、特征、历史建筑和发现地点的位置和范围，以及考古兴趣区域；已知或可能特别丰富的考古特征地点）

• 历史环境事件（即考古调查和挖掘、历史建筑调查、环境影响评估等）

我们强烈建议，当使用此数据集的WFS时，由于其规模较大，应使用过滤器进行使用。

使用Canmore数据的LPAs：
• 爱丁堡市
• 邓迪
• 法克雷克
• 菲弗
• 因弗克莱德
• 北拉纳克郡
• 奥克尼群岛