Archaeological work in the Netherlands is carried out and coordinated mainly by the Rijksdienst voor het Oudheidkundig Bodemonderzoek (ROB = Civil Archaeological Service). Permission for archaeological excavations, apart from the ROB, is permanently granted to four of the Netherlands universities, one museum, and eleven municipalities that employ an archaeologist who is a specialist in his field. The Archaeological Civil Service was established in 1947 and is divided into three major sectors.The Department of Research, staffed with ten provincial archaeologists, the Department of Restoration/Conservation of Monuments, and the Department of Reconstruction of Monuments.
A few years ago ,the RAAP Institute, a specialist in non-destructive methods of research, had undertaken archaeological projects on a contract basis. One of the future projects of ROB, concerning the coordination of research in the field of “urban archaeology”, is going to be carried out on the historic cities of the Netherlands.
