Global warming The implications for sustainable archaeological resource management

AbstractGlobal warming is recognised as an important environmental, and consequently political, issue. Rising global temperatures have demonstrated the potential for raising sea levels and increasing surface temperatures, with wide-reaching implications for habitats and biodiversity. While this remains high on the priority list for ecological sciences and coastal management, the implications for archaeological resource management remain unexamined. This is surprising given the increasingly close relationship between ecological and archaeological site management. This paper aims to focus attention on the issue of archaeology and global warming, and presents an outline of the possible consequences and approaches that may be considered, particularly in relation to the archaeology of wetlands.