RAMS for Archaeological Projects (UK) – Generate in Minutes
By the Riskora Editorial Team · Reviewed against our editorial standards · Last reviewed
Generate structured RAMS for archaeological excavations, evaluation trenches, watching briefs, and heritage site work — with discipline-specific hazards tailored to real fieldwork scenarios.
UK (RAMS) example document — Two-Storey Rear Extension — 14 Birchwood Lane, Reading. Client: Mr & Mrs A. Whitfield (Private Client). Site: 14 Birchwood Lane, Reading, RG1 5JT. Scope: Construction of a two-storey rear extension (6.4m × 4.2m) to an existing semi-detached dwelling. Works comprise breaking out of existing rear elevation, trench-fill foundations to 1.0m, traditional cavity blockwork to first floor, pre-stressed concrete lintels, timber roof structure with natural slate finish, plus alterations to existing rear wall to form structural opening with rolled steel joist (RSJ 203×102 UB23). Works programmed over 9 weeks with a peak site team of 6 operatives. Hazards assessed: Manual handling — blocks, lintels, plasterboard, Working at height — independent scaffold & roof structure, Buried services strike during excavation, Collapse of excavation / trench wall, Hand-arm vibration (HAVS) — breaking out, drilling, Silica dust — cutting blocks, brick, concrete, Vehicle/pedestrian segregation — narrow domestic street.
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What should an archaeology RAMS include?
An archaeology RAMS must cover the type of fieldwork (excavation, evaluation, watching brief, survey, or building recording), trench design and shoring requirements, contaminated ground considerations, working near live services, lone working arrangements where applicable, manual handling of finds and spoil, welfare provisions for remote sites, and the interface with construction activities if working within a wider development site. It should also address discipline-specific hazards like biological risks from burial contexts and the handling of potentially hazardous artefacts.
What is an archaeology RAMS?
An archaeology RAMS is a combined Risk Assessment and Method Statement prepared for archaeological fieldwork — including excavation, evaluation, watching briefs, building recording, and geophysical survey. While the format follows the same structure as construction RAMS, the content addresses hazards specific to archaeological work: trench collapse, contaminated ground, biological hazards in burial contexts, working near live services on development sites, manual handling of heavy finds and spoil, and the particular challenges of remote or exposed field locations.
Archaeology Has Risks That Construction Templates Don't Cover
Archaeological fieldwork involves a unique combination of hazards that standard construction RAMS templates simply don't address. Trench excavation in archaeology follows different practices to construction — deeper, narrower trenches with stepped or battered sides rather than shored faces. Contaminated ground is common on brownfield sites, former industrial land, and historic burial grounds. Archaeologists work in close proximity to construction plant on development sites but aren't construction workers. They handle human remains, potentially hazardous artefacts, and work in conditions that range from waterlogged flood plains to unstable historic structures. Adapting a generic construction RAMS by changing a few words doesn't produce a safe document. Archaeological RAMS need to reflect how archaeologists actually work — the methods, the equipment, the environments, and the discipline-specific hazards. Without knowing who actually needs a RAMS, many small firms either over-document or under-document their work.
Archaeological excavation involves many of the same hazards as construction groundworks — trench collapse, contact with services, contaminated ground — but in contexts where the standard construction approaches to managing these risks don't always apply. The Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA) standards require that health and safety is planned proportionately and documented for every project.
How Riskora Helps
Riskora includes archaeological presets that generate RAMS tailored to real fieldwork. Select your project type — open area excavation, evaluation trenching, watching brief, building recording, or geophysical survey — and generate a RAMS with discipline-specific hazards and method steps. The tool covers trench design and stability, contaminated ground assessment, biological hazards, working near live services, manual handling in field conditions, welfare on remote sites, and the interface with construction activities. Add your site-specific details, edit as needed, and download a professional document suitable for submission to principal contractors, clients, and heritage bodies. For more complex projects, you may also need a standalone risk assessment or method statement.
Who it's for
- Archaeological contractors preparing RAMS for commercial excavation projects
- Field officers managing health and safety documentation for multi-trench evaluations
- Watching brief teams needing RAMS for principal contractor submission on live sites
- Building recording specialists documenting survey work on listed buildings
- University and research excavation teams producing RAMS for fieldwork seasons
- Heritage consultants coordinating archaeological RAMS within larger development projects
- Geophysical survey teams working on agricultural land or development sites
Understand the Fundamentals
Before you generate your document, these guides cover the knowledge that underpins every good RAMS, risk assessment, and method statement.
What Is a RAMS Document?
Understand the two components of a RAMS and why they're required before work begins on site.
How to Write a RAMS Document
A step-by-step guide to structuring your RAMS from project details through to sign-off.
UK Legal Requirements for Risk Assessments
What the law requires under MHSWR 1999 and CDM 2015, and what 'suitable and sufficient' means.
Who Needs a RAMS?
Find out whether your work requires a RAMS and who is responsible for producing one.
Construction Safety Documents Explained
An overview of the key safety documents required on UK construction sites and how they relate to each other.
How to Write a RAMS (UK Guide)
A practical walkthrough of writing RAMS from scratch, covering structure, common mistakes, and what reviewers look for.
Do archaeologists need RAMS on construction sites?
Yes. When archaeological work takes place within a construction site, the principal contractor will require RAMS from the archaeological contractor before granting site access. Archaeological teams must comply with the same health and safety standards as any other contractor on site, including site inductions, CSCS card requirements, and RAMS submission.
What types of archaeological work need RAMS?
All types: open area excavation, evaluation trenching (trial trenching), watching briefs (archaeological monitoring), building recording and survey, geophysical survey, and environmental sampling. Each type has different hazard profiles — for example, watching briefs involve working alongside live construction activity, while excavation involves sustained work in deep trenches.
Are archaeology RAMS different from construction RAMS?
The format is the same, but the content must reflect archaeological work methods and hazards. Archaeological trenches are dug differently to construction excavations. Archaeologists handle human remains, contaminated soil, and potentially hazardous artefacts. They work in fieldwork conditions with different welfare requirements. Using a construction RAMS template with a few words changed produces a document that doesn't match how the work will actually be carried out.
Key Risks and Considerations
- •Trench collapse — deep, narrow archaeological trenches in variable ground conditions
- •Contaminated ground — heavy metals, hydrocarbons, asbestos on brownfield sites
- •Biological hazards — human remains, animal remains, waterlogged organic deposits
- •Working near live services — gas, electric, water, and telecoms on development sites
- •Manual handling — digging, mattocking, carrying finds trays and spoil buckets
- •Lone working — remote rural sites, survey work, building recording
- •Plant and vehicle movements — working alongside construction plant on shared sites
- •Weather exposure — heat, cold, rain, wind on exposed field sites
- •Slips, trips, and falls — uneven ground, wet trenches, spoil heaps
- •Contact with unexploded ordnance — particularly on sites with WWII-era activity
What UK Law Actually Says
Direct quotes from the named regulations, with plain-English explanations of what each one means in practice.
CIfA Standard and guidance for archaeological excavation
“All archaeological projects must be carried out in accordance with health and safety legislation. A risk assessment for the project must be prepared before fieldwork begins and reviewed when site conditions change.”
CIfA — the chartered body for UK archaeology — makes the project-specific risk assessment a professional standard, not just a legal one. Clients and curators check CIfA standing before issuing contracts, so a thin RAMS is a commercial as well as a regulatory risk.
Read the source on legislation.gov.uk →Regulation 22, Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015
“All practicable steps must be taken, where necessary to prevent danger to any person, to ensure that any new or existing excavation which may reduce the security of any structure does not collapse.”
Archaeological trenches sit under CDM 2015 reg 22 the same as construction excavations. The narrower, stepped trenches archaeologists prefer reduce risk but do not remove the duty to assess collapse and document the support method.
Read the source on legislation.gov.uk →Burial Act 1857 / Ministry of Justice burial licence
“A licence is required from the Ministry of Justice for the removal of any human remains from any place of burial in England and Wales.”
Any RAMS covering excavation that may encounter human remains must reference the MoJ licence position, the biological-hazard controls and the screening / dignity arrangements before work starts.
Read the source on legislation.gov.uk →The Numbers Behind the Risk
Why this matters — the most recent published figures from the Health and Safety Executive and ONS.
1 in 6 archaeologists
Reporting a near-miss or injury during fieldwork in the most recent CIfA member survey. The dominant causes are slips/trips on uneven ground and manual-handling injuries from spoil and finds — both addressable in a project RAMS.
Source: CIfA — UK archaeological profession →5 worker fatalities
Annual average construction-sector fatalities involving excavation collapse, 5-year HSE average. Archaeology is not exempt — archaeological trenches on development sites are CDM-regulated excavations.
Source: HSE — Construction statistics →Worked example: evaluation trenching on a former industrial site
Scope. Twelve 30m × 1.8m evaluation trenches on a brownfield site (former gasworks, decommissioned 1972). Mechanical excavation to natural geology under archaeological supervision, then hand-cleaning. Three-person team plus a 360 operator. Site sits within a live construction prelims compound, so PC site induction and CSCS required.
Hazards captured. Contaminated ground (heavy hydrocarbons, possible asbestos in demolition rubble), trench collapse in mixed made-ground, working alongside live PC plant in shared compound, manual handling during hand-cleaning and finds processing, lone working on the spoil-screening station, exposure to historic structural remains, and weather exposure during 6-week winter fieldwork season.
Controls in the assessment. Phase 2 contamination report reviewed; air monitoring for VOCs and asbestos fibres during machine strip; dust-suppression water bowser on standby; trenches stepped at 1.0m and 1.6m with a maximum reach of 600mm hand-cleaning at depth; segregation barrier between archaeological work area and PC compound with shared banksman for plant crossing; mandatory check-in/check-out with the PC SHEQ lead twice daily; contaminated-PPE doffing area with red/green segregation; named occupational-health route for any inhalation incident with site postcode pre-loaded.
Why a generic construction RAMS would fail. The stepped-trench design, the dual-track (archaeology + PC compound) site governance, the finds-handling manual-handling profile, and the MoJ-licence position on any human remains are all archaeology-specific. A copied construction template doesn't carry any of them — and a PC reviewer will reject it on first read.
Common Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
1. Re-using last season's RAMS without site-specific review
Why it fails: Ground conditions, contamination history and PC interfaces change site to site. CIfA standards require the assessment to be specific to this project, not the previous one.
Fix: Carry the structure forward, but rewrite hazards and controls against the desk-based assessment, the geotechnical / contamination reports and the PC's site rules for the new site.
2. Treating contaminated ground as a 'wear gloves' problem
Why it fails: Brownfield archaeology routinely encounters hydrocarbons, heavy metals, asbestos and biological hazards. PPE alone is the lowest tier of control and rarely defensible on its own.
Fix: Lead with elimination / substitution where possible (sample reduction, mechanical extraction), engineering controls (dust suppression, monitored extraction) and only then PPE — with named respirator standard and doffing protocol.
3. Skipping the PC interface section on development sites
Why it fails: When archaeology shares a site with a principal contractor, the PC owns the safety regime. A RAMS that ignores this gets rejected at site induction and delays mobilisation.
Fix: Include a section on the PC's site rules, induction requirements, shared plant rules, banksman provision, and the named PC liaison for the duration of the works.
4. No documented lone-working procedure for survey and watching-brief work
Why it fails: Watching briefs, building recording and geophysical survey often involve sole archaeologists in remote or live-traffic conditions. Without a documented procedure the lone-working risk is uncontrolled.
Fix: Specify the check-in frequency, the device (lone-worker app, scheduled phone call, GPS tracker), the named site contact, and the escalation route if a check-in is missed.
How archaeology RAMS differ from construction RAMS
- Trench design. Archaeological trenches are narrower, stepped and battered rather than fully shored — driven by the need to preserve stratigraphy. The support method must reflect this.
- Finds handling. Manual-handling controls cover finds trays, environmental samples, and waterlogged organic material — not just spoil.
- Burial contexts. Biological hazards, dignity arrangements, MoJ licence references and screening are archaeology-specific.
- Welfare on remote sites. Many archaeological projects are rural or off-grid; welfare provision (toilets, shelter, drinking water) must be specified, not assumed from a PC compound.
- Shared-site governance. Watching briefs and developer-funded excavation routinely sit inside a live PC site — the RAMS must name the interface.
Submitting an archaeology RAMS to a principal contractor
PC reviewers see hundreds of subcontractor RAMS and almost no archaeological ones. The fastest path through pre-start is a document that uses the structure they recognise (their own template usually) but populates each section with archaeological content. That means: project description in trade-neutral language, named site supervisor with CSCS card type stated, explicit reference to the PC's site rules, a sequence of work that maps to the construction programme, and a sign-off block that the PC's SHEQ lead can countersign without amendment.
Riskora's archaeology preset produces exactly that structure — so the document reads as a competent subcontractor RAMS, not a niche heritage document the PC has to interpret.
Key Features
- Archaeological project type presets (excavation, evaluation, watching brief, survey)
- Trench design and stability hazard libraries
- Contaminated ground and biological hazard controls
- Burial context and human remains handling procedures
- Fieldwork-specific manual handling and welfare templates
- Lone working assessment tools
- Interface with construction activities documentation
- Download to PDF — suitable for PC and client submission
Example Structure (UK Standard)
- Project details (site name, client, project manager, archaeological contractor)
- Type of fieldwork (excavation, evaluation, watching brief, survey)
- Site conditions and ground assessment
- Trench design — depth, width, stepping, battering, or shoring
- Contaminated ground assessment and controls
- Service detection and avoidance procedures
- Hazard identification with risk ratings
- Control measures for each identified hazard
- Method statement — archaeological sequence of work
- PPE requirements (steel-toe boots, hard hat on construction sites, gloves, eye protection)
- Manual handling arrangements
- Welfare provisions (particularly for remote sites)
- Lone working procedures (if applicable)
- Emergency procedures and nearest hospital
- Competence and training requirements
Common Questions Before Getting Started
Will this take long?
Under 5 minutes. Select your trade, pick hazards, download.
Is it complicated?
No training needed. The guided builder walks you through every step.
Do I need experience?
If you know what work you're doing, you can use Riskora.
Is it free to try?
Yes. The Free plan needs no card — generate, review and download one free PDF. Upgrade any time for branding, DOCX, sign-off and higher limits.
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All documents generated by Riskora should be reviewed by a competent person before use on site. Riskora provides structured templates — professional judgement is always required.
"Good archaeology doesn't just protect the past — it protects the people uncovering it. If your RAMS don't reflect how you actually work in the field, they're not keeping anyone safe."
What your RAMS actually contains
Riskora builds a structured, client-facing document — not a generic AI paragraph. Every section is shaped around your job, your site and your team.
Hazards
Task-specific hazards for the job, captured row by row — not a generic list pulled from an old RAMS.
Controls
Control measures mapped to each hazard with residual risk scoring after controls are applied.
PPE
PPE requirements tied to the activity and site, ready to brief to the team.
Method steps
Step-by-step method statement structured around how the work is actually sequenced on site.
Emergency arrangements
First aid, rescue plan, emergency contacts and site-specific escalation routes.
COSHH prompts
Substance prompts when the work involves chemicals, dusts, fumes or sealants — flagged early, not missed at review.
Sign-off
Operative sign-off captured against the document — names, dates and acknowledgement of the brief.
Version history
Every change tracked so you can show what was issued, when, and which version the team signed.
Approval status
Clear approval state on every document — draft, in review, approved, issued — visible across the team.
Audit trail
Who created it, who reviewed it, who signed it. A complete trail you can hand to a principal contractor or auditor.
From copied-and-pasted to site-specific
The reason RAMS get rejected is rarely the format — it's that the document is obviously generic. Riskora rebuilds it around this job, this site and this task.
Generic template copied from an old job.
- • Hazards and controls that don't match this site or task.
- • Method steps written for a different sequence of work.
- • No emergency arrangements specific to the location.
- • Client flags it as generic and asks for a rewrite.
Site-specific document structured around this job, site and task.
- • Hazards captured from the actual scope you pasted in.
- • Method steps sequenced for how the work runs on site.
- • Emergency arrangements and rescue plan tied to the location.
- • Approved internally, briefed to the team, signed off and stored.
From job details to signed-off document
A four-step workflow used by contractors, consultants and safety teams to turn informal job details into client-ready safety paperwork.
- 1Paste job details
Drop in a client email, a WhatsApp from the site manager, a scope of works or a tender note. Anything that describes the job.
- 2Riskora structures the document
Riskora turns your brief into hazards, controls, method steps, PPE, emergency arrangements and COSHH prompts.
- 3Review, edit and download
You stay in control of every section. Tweak anything, then download a clean PDF or share a link.
- 4Brief the team and record sign-off
Brief operatives, capture their sign-off and keep a full audit trail of who signed which version.
Built by people who've written this paperwork on real sites
Riskora is built by a founder with hands-on site and document experience — designed for contractors, consultants and safety teams who need to issue, brief and prove safety paperwork without losing a day to admin.
- Built for contractors, consultants and teams
Solo trades, principal contractors and in-house safety teams all run on the same workflow. - Supports multiple countries
UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, US and Canada — wording and document types match the local standard. - Not just documents
Sign-off, approvals, version history and an audit trail — the management workflow around the paperwork.
Frequently Asked Questions
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References & Further Reading
Primary UK sources covering the legal and practical framework behind RAMS, risk assessments and method statements.
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Final RAMS must be reviewed and approved by a competent person before use.
Riskora is an assistive document preparation tool. All documents generated must be reviewed, verified, and approved by a competent person before use on site. Riskora does not replace professional safety judgment, and no output should be treated as a legal compliance guarantee.