A new book has been published recording the condition of Northern Ireland's historic monuments.

Results from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency's 'The Condition and Management Survey of Archaeological Resource in Northern Ireland (CAMSAR)' report, are the first scientifically based findings of their kind in the province and will provide a baseline against which to measure future change.

This statistical survey, commissioned by the NIEA, visited 10% of the recorded sites dating to before 1700AD, and was carried out between 2004 and 2007 by the Centre for Archaeological Fieldwork at Queen's University Belfast.

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Claire Foley, NIEA Senior Inspector, said: "The condition of archaeological sites and monuments in Northern Ireland has been a cause for concern. Reports of damage to and destruction of historic monuments have been on the rise since the 1970's.

"These trends needed to be captured in order to assess what measures could be implemented to redress them and so the CAMSAR survey was commissioned.

"The survey found that those monuments protected by NIEA or in agri - environment schemes, managed by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD), fared well highlighting the efforts of both NIEA and DARD in protecting and conserving our built heritage."

The report outlines the various types of damage encountered such as erosion by livestock or uncontrolled development and contrasts the effect of many different land use types for the survival of archaeological field monuments.

(PR/JM)