Archaeological collections

Under the Ontario Heritage Act, licensed archaeologists are responsible for all artifacts and records of archaeological fieldwork they carry out under their licence. This includes:

  • field notes
  • photographs
  • maps
  • diagrams

As an archaeologist, you may ask to deposit an artifact collection at an appropriate public institution. To do so, you must complete an Archaeological Collection Deposit Request Form and e-mail it to archaeology@ontario.ca. The form is available in the Resource Centre of PastPort.

Archaeological reports

As an archaeologist, you have to file reports with the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries after you complete an archaeological project.

These reports document the fieldwork, findings and recommendations of an archaeological assessment.

Report review

We may review reports prepared by licensed archaeologists to ensure they have met the Terms and Conditions for Archaeological Licences. This helps ensure that archaeological resources are conserved.

When determining which reports to review, we consider the risk of negative impacts to archaeological resources from development activities.

We review higher-risk reports, including all reports that document archaeological resources, to ensure that archaeologists comply with the 2011 Standards and Guidelines for Consultant Archaeologists and the Terms and Conditions for Archaeological Licenses

We may enter lower risk reports into the Ontario Public Register of Archaeological Reports without a technical review. We reserve the right to review any report and will audit lower risk reports to ensure that archaeologists comply with requirements for fieldwork and reporting.

In many cases, these reports must document how the archaeologist has engaged with interested Indigenous communities. We review this documentation to confirm whether the archaeologist considered feedback from Indigenous communities when developing a strategy to excavate or protect the site.

Report results

Once we have addressed an archaeological report, either by completing a technical review or entering it into the report register without review, we send a letter to the licensed archaeologist.

When a report is not reviewed, we send the archaeologist a letter stating that the report has been entered into the register without review. Our letter does not quote the recommendations of the report, nor indicate whether the report and its recommendations meet ministry requirements.

When a report is reviewed and complies with the Standards and Guidelines, we send the archaeologist a letter stating that the report has met fieldwork and reporting standards and has been entered into the register. The letter will quote the report’s recommendations.

If the report does not comply with the Standards and Guidelines, we send a letter to the archaeologist outlining specific concerns with the report and gives the archaeologist an opportunity to address the concerns by a deadline, by revising the report and, if necessary, conducting additional fieldwork, analysis or Indigenous engagement.

We may terminate its review and deem a report incomplete when a licensed archaeologist has not filed a revised report before the assigned deadline, or the revised report does not address the concerns identified to our satisfaction. The archaeologist can re-submit a new report package to address all our concerns.

We will terminate its review and deem a report non-compliant when the report documents that the archaeologist violated the Standards and Guidelines or the Terms and Conditions, and we have determined that no additional fieldwork or reporting revisions will be able to resolve the violations. We will not accept further reports submitted under the associated Project Information Form number.

Communicating the results to development proponents and approval authorities

We provide status updates to development proponents and approval authorities throughout the report review process:

  • Proponents and approval authorities are copied on letters sent to archaeologists when a report is entered into the register.
  • Proponents and approval authorities are emailed when a report is deemed incomplete or non-compliant and the review is terminated.

Providing timely updates on the report review process ensures that proponents and approval authorities can make informed decisions about development activities where there are concerns for archaeological resources.

What development proponents need to know

Our review of an archaeological report ensures the archaeologist has made appropriate recommendations for archaeological sites before an approval authority makes any decisions about a development.

Most archaeological reports comply with the Standards and Guidelines. However, in a small number of cases, reports are noncompliant. In these instances, approval authorities may decide not to accept the recommendations in an archaeological report and may, as a result, decide not to approve a development project until the archaeological concerns are addressed.

Proponents may need to have noncompliant archaeological assessments redone. This is to ensure that concerns for archaeological resources on the lands to be developed have been addressed. Depending on the noncompliant work, this may mean that one or more stages of assessment must be redone.

The proponent will need to contact the consultant archaeologist for further information and will have the opportunity to hire a new consultant to redo the assessment.

Any new archaeologist can contact us to confirm the scope of work. Requirements may vary based on the individual circumstances.

To assist proponents, we will expedite the review of any new reports filed for projects that have to be redone.

Prioritizing archaeological assessment reports

We have established a system for prioritizing the review of archaeological reports.

When determining priority, we consider both:

  • risk to archaeological resources arising from land development activities
  • pressures on proponents to obtain development approvals

Our priority for reviewing reports is:

  1. Archaeological reports that support broader Ontario Government priorities or infrastructure projects such as transit, highways, pipelines, sewer and water lines.
  2. Stage 4 preliminary excavation reports.
  3. Stage 3 archaeological assessment reports.
  4. All other reports.

As part of its commitment to good customer service, we may, upon request, expedite a review when the archaeologist can demonstrate that the proponent or approval authority is facing an impending deadline.

Depending on the volume of requests, we will strive to complete an expedited review within 20 business days of granting the request.

For more information on our review of archaeological reports, refer to Incomplete and Non-Compliant Reports fact sheet.