Public perception of the site will be canvassed to form the basis of an element of primary research, two distinct groups will be identified those of tourists to the area specifically visiting the site and the local populations. These groups’ perceptions of the sites themselves and of heritage law will be canvassed and their responses recorded. The perception of the site by a third group, professionals and volunteers working at or with the sites will also be sought.

This primary research will help answer key research questions; in particular it will address issues of visitor management and protection of the sites and how this management and protection affects visitors’ perception of the archaeology. The role of visitors in generating funding and engendering heritage law will be considered. It will also address the issues of the relationship of local communities to the sites in a cognitive, cultural and physical sense, asking how heritage law has affected these communities’ relationships with the sites and how both the law and the communities’ perception of the sites will affect their development and protection in the future. A final issue addressed by the primary research will be a look at how professionals and volunteers directly involved in the management of the sites perceive the sites and their statutory protection, and how these views coincide with and/or differ from those of the other two groups. It will also seek to answer why any differences exist in the perceptions of these three groups.

Furthermore, the perceptions of these groups of the other site encompassed by this work will be examined, and their opinions of the position of “their” site within a European context will be sought.

Finally, the study will examine attitudes and cultural factors engendering heritage law in these European member states considered in the study, and what these mean for the future effective management of and conservation techniques applied to these archaeological sites. In particular this should provide a platform for the resolution of some of the main issues facing modern communities living with ancient sites.