Confusion and Solution

Abstract

When a major discovery has been made or a long-term management strategy is required, conservation and cultural heritage specialists have tended to install several protocols that sometimes do not effectively work. Conservation Plans and Conservation Management Plans are rarely considered as a way forward to install a long-term strategy and as a result of the desired outcomes usually fall short of expectation and satisfaction. Indeed, some projects have in the past required a reappraisal that has radically changed the dynamic and invariably the outcomes as well (e.g., Stonehenge, England). This paper will discuss the philosophy of the Strengths Weakness Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis and apply it to two cave sites in England and Wales which have yielded probable Upper Palaeolithic rock art. Although these sites are essentially covered and not open-air, their landscape surroundings (i.e., their setting) provide an essential backdrop; and in terms of the terminology used by the two respective heritage agencies – Historic England and Cadw, the broader landscapes and sites would be generically referred to as ‘heritage assets’ (also referred to as Historic Assets in Wales). 1