Annex I.8 Prior verification of archaeological interest.

(Article 41, paragraph 4)

Article 1

1. The preventive verification of the archaeological interest, provided for by article 41 paragraph 4 of the code, is carried out according to the following procedure.

2. For the purposes of verifying eligibility for the preventive verification procedure of the archaeological interest, for the works subject to the application of the provisions of the code, the contracting authorities and the granting bodies transmit to the territorially competent superintendent, before approval, a copy of the project feasibility of the intervention or of an extract of it sufficient for archaeological purposes, including the results of the preliminary geological and archaeological investigations with particular attention to the archive and bibliographic data available, the results of the reconnaissance aimed at observing the terrain, reading of the geomorphology of the territory, as well as, for network works, photo interpretations. The contracting authorities and granting bodies collect and process this documentation through the archaeological departments of the universities, or through individuals in possession of a degree and specialization in archeology or a PhD in archaeology. The transmission of the above documentation is not required for interventions that do not involve new construction or excavations at levels other than those already occupied by the existing artefacts.

3. A specific list has been established at the Ministry of Culture, made accessible to all interested parties, of university archaeological institutes and individuals in possession of the necessary qualifications. By decree of the Minister of Culture, after consulting a representation of the university archaeological departments, the criteria for keeping the said list will be regulated, however providing for methods of participation of all interested parties. Until the date of entry into force of said decree, the list of university archaeological institutes and subjects in possession of the necessary existing qualification remains valid and the criteria for its maintenance adopted by decree of the Minister for Goods and Activities continue to apply. cultural 20 March 2009, n. 60.

4. If, on the basis of the elements transmitted and further information available, the superintendent deems the existence of an archaeological interest in the areas covered by the project, he may justifiably request, within the peremptory deadline of thirty days from receipt of the feasibility project or of the excerpt of referred to in paragraph 2, the subjection of the intervention to the procedure provided for in paragraphs 7 et seq. The superintendent communicates the outcome of the eligibility check at the services conference. For projects of large infrastructural or network works, the peremptory deadline for the request for the preventive verification procedure of the archaeological interest is set at sixty days. The terms referred to in the first and second periods may be extended for no more than fifteen days in the event of the need for in-depth investigations or documentary additions.

5. Even in the event that, due to a low, very low or zero archaeological risk, the outcome of the eligibility verification is that the conditions for starting the preventive verification procedure of the archaeological interest are not considered to exist, the superintendent communicates the outcome of the eligibility verification during the services conference, with the formulation of any targeted prescriptions, including archaeological assistance during construction in the case of areas with presumed but not easily definable archaeological potential.

6. In any case, the communication relating to the outcome of the eligibility verification allows for the completion of the service conference with regards to the archaeological profiles, without prejudice to the final decisions of the Superintendency resulting from the final outcome of the preventive verification of the archaeological interest, if arranged pursuant to paragraph 4.

7. The preventive verification procedure of the archaeological interest, the costs of which are borne by the contracting authority, consists in carrying out the following investigations and drafting the supplementary documents of the feasibility project:

a) execution of core samples;

b) geophysical and geochemical prospecting;

c) archaeological tests and, where necessary, execution of surveys and excavations, even extensive enough to ensure sufficient sampling of the area concerned from the works.

8. The procedure referred to in paragraph 7 ends within the peremptory deadline of ninety days from the request referred to in paragraph 4 with the drafting of the definitive archaeological report, approved by the territorially competent sector superintendent. The report contains an analytical description of the investigations carried out, with the related outcomes listed below, and dictates the consequent provisions:

a) contexts in which the stratigraphic excavation directly exhausts the need for protection;

b) contexts that do not highlight finds that can be read as a unitary structural complex, with a poor level of conservation for which interventions of reinterment, disassembly, reassembly and museum display are possible, in another location than that of discovery;

c) complexes whose conservation cannot be otherwise ensured than in a contextualized form through integral maintenance on site.

9. In the cases referred to in paragraph 8, letter a), the preventive verification procedure of the archaeological interest is considered closed with a negative outcome and the non-existence of archaeological interest in the area affected by the works is ascertained. In the cases referred to in paragraph 8, letter b), the superintendency determines the measures necessary to ensure the knowledge, conservation and protection of archaeologically relevant finds, without prejudice to any protection measures to be adopted pursuant to the cultural heritage code and the landscape, pursuant to legislative decree 22 January 2004, n. 42, relating to individual discoveries or their context. In the case referred to in paragraph 8, letter c), the provisions are included in the subjugation measures to protect the area affected by the discoveries and the Ministry of Culture initiates the declaration procedure referred to in articles 12 and 13 of the aforementioned heritage code cultural and landscape.

10. If the preventive verification of the archaeological interest extends beyond the start of the procedure for awarding the works, the special specifications of the project based on the awarding of the works must strictly regulate, to protect the public interest underlying the realization of the work , the possible contractual and technical scenarios that could arise based on the outcome of the verification itself. In any case, the preventive verification procedure of the archaeological interest must be completed no later than the date scheduled for the start of the works.

11. By decree of the President of the Council of Ministers, upon proposal of the Minister of Culture, in agreement with the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, by 31 December 2023, guidelines are adopted aimed at ensuring promptness, efficiency and effectiveness of the procedure referred to in this article. With the same decree, simplified procedures are identified, with certain deadlines, which guarantee the protection of the archaeological heritage taking into account the public interest underlying the realization of the work.