Florica Brașoveanu
DOI: 10.2478/ouacsce-2025-0009
Pages: 86 – 97
Abstract – This article examines the evolution and structure of international regulations governing archaeological heritage, highlighting the ways in which international law has incorporated the epistemological specificities of archaeology into a coherent and increasingly normative legal framework. The analysis traces the progressive development of norms from UNESCO’s early recommendations in 1956 and 1968, through the 1969 European Convention on the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage and its revised version, the Valletta Convention (1992), to the 2001 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage. The study identifies a convergence of fundamental principles, including public interest, integrated conservation, preventive archaeology, minimal intervention, State responsibility, and international co-operation, all of which contribute to the legal recognition of archaeological heritage as a non-renewable and collective resource for humankind. It further addresses contemporary challenges related to implementation, such as pressures arising from economic development, the increased vulnerability of underwater heritage, and persistent illicit trafficking. The article argues that the effectiveness of archaeological heritage protection depends on strengthening international cooperation, improving administrative capacity, and bringing domestic legislation into alignment with global standards. Overall, the study proposes an integrated vision of international archaeological heritage law, in which conservation functions as an essential dimension of collective memory, identity, and intergenerational responsibility.
Keywords – archaeological heritage, international law, integrated conservation, preventive archaeology, Valletta Convention, UNESCO 2001.
