Archaeological areas in the Canarian legislation on cultural heritage. Implications for the management of their protection

Abstract

There are currently 83 declared Assets of Cultural Interest (BIC) with the category of Archaeological Zone (ZA) in the Canary Islands. Of these, 36 are on the island of Gran Canaria, followed by Tenerife with 27, Fuerteventura and La Palma with 5 zones, El Hierro with 3, La Gomera with 2 and finally, Lanzarote with only one archaeological zone. This work reflects some of the deficiencies in the management of this type of property, caused by the declaration procedure itself, and which prevent a clear and fluid management of archaeological heritage, the aim of which should be, according to the most current trends in heritage management, to integrate, cohere and develop the territories socially and economically. To this end, the study has focused on the analysis of the legal and administrative organisation in the management of archaeological heritage, the policy of authorisations for archaeological interventions, the protection reflected in the BICs, the delimitation of protection areas and their conversion into archaeological parks, which have helped us to study in depth and show the current state of Canarian archaeological assets and to make progress in the evaluation and diagnosis of the management of archaeological heritage.