BERMUDA needs to extend its archaeology legislation to dry land, according to the executive director of the Bermuda Maritime Museum after several 19th-century military shells were found at a Hamilton construction site.

Workers excavating a construction site on East Broadway last week came across three live military shells dating from between 1820 and 1870. The rounds weighed between 200 and 250 pounds each. Earlier, in May, two others were found.

"Bermuda now has an outstanding law, enacted in 2001, to protect archaeological sites under the sea," the director, Dr. Edward Harris (pictured) said. "The week before last, the fifth World Archaeological Congress in Washington, DC, passed a resolution commending the Government of Bermuda on this exemplary piece of legislation."

Dr. Harris said Bermuda's Wrecks Act was now being examined by islands in the West Indies, Mexico and elsewhere, because it was in complete harmony with the 2001 recommendations on shipwreck sites from UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organisation).

But Dr. Harris said Bermuda now needed similar legislation to protect the archaeological heritage on land, which was only partly covered by National Parks legislation.

"As it has with shipwreck heritage, the Government would hopefully look into the ways and means by which archaeology on land can be protected," he said. "The island also needs more working archaeologists, so that when things are discovered, as the shells were during the recent construction work, they can assist in saving the findings and advising on how best to deal with sites on which artifacts may be found."

Dr. Harris said the discovery on East Broadway only underscored the hidden history that waited to be discovered or destroyed in Bermuda.

"The Maritime Museum is working in close co-operation with the Bermuda Police Service to ascertain whether the shells were loaded when buried and then to see if they can be saved for posterity," he said.

"It is hoped that people will report any accidental findings, so that archaeologists can study the context in which the artifacts were found and give some advice about what should be done with such historical objects."

Dr. Harris said the UNESCO World Heritage designation given to the town of St. George's was based largely on the authenticity of the standing buildings and archaeological resources in the town.

"The archaeological remains in the rest of Bermuda are just as important as those at the East End and also need protection under the law," he said.

Bermuda National Trust archaeologist Richard Lowry agreed with Dr. Harris, saying Bermuda did need more archaeological protection "on the terrestrial side".

He added: "We need to have some person to protect the archaeology on land, issue licences and make sure reports are published from archaeologists. We have had a number of digs over the years but finding the documentation is difficult." He said lack of information about different sites and historic buildings around Bermuda was a hindrance which the Bermuda National Trust was trying to alleviate.

"We are trying to create an information management system to record potential archaeological sites," Mr. Lowry said. "We are doing some pilot studies in St. George's with student volunteers. We are working to see how much time and resources it would take to do a wide survey on a number of settings in St. George's."

Mr. Lowry said he was pleased that many developers were now coming to the Bermuda National Trust before they started digging a potential historic site.

"In Bermuda, the only area that is covered by any sort of protection is St. George's," he said. "The Preservations Authority requires that you have to have an excavation or archaeological assessment in the town of St. George's before building. It can be a non-invasive survey or we might conduct research in a trench, as a last resort.

"We only really do it if they will be putting foundations in or something that is going to destroy the archaeology. If you put down concrete or asphalt then you are actually preserving the archaeology."

He said ideally Bermuda needed to extend its protections, but the Bermuda National Trust was first trying to get a grip on the scale of the problem before making any concrete suggestions.

But he admitted that with the recent building boom going on in the City of Hamilton and the rest of Bermuda, time was of the essence.

"We are a small committee and we only have finite resources," he said. "We don't have a mandate to do this. We can only go where we are invited. We can't stop people from digging."