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Completion of Commissioned Archaeological Projects

Historic Environment Scotland

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

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21 Oct 2026 at 01:00

OJEU - F15 - Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Historic Environment Scotland commissioned the completion of archaeological work at the Links of Noltland, a protected historic property on Westray in the Orkney Islands. The work concerns outstanding tasks from earlier excavations carried out in response to coastal erosion. It includes post-excavation work and bringing the project to completion through final reporting, publication where appropriate, and submission of the archaeological archive. The supplier is responsible for an assemblage from the excavations that it currently stores, as well as the knowledge gathered as the original excavator. This is a specialist archaeological services requirement for a specific site and existing collection, rather than a general excavation commission.

The procurement is complete and the contract is active. Historic Environment Scotland awarded the single contract to EASE Archaeology through a limited procedure without prior publication of a competition. The stated basis was that competition was absent for technical reasons: the selected supplier carried out the original excavations, led the post-excavation work and stores and curates the assemblage; the relevant findings have not been published and are not available to another contractor. The contract was signed on 20 October 2026 and is valued at £97,220. Its stated maximum duration is 24 months. The requirement was treated as one lot, covering completion of the outstanding archaeological project and ongoing work at Links of Noltland.

This award shows that Historic Environment Scotland buys specialist archaeological project-completion services for its historic properties, including final analysis, reporting, publication and archive submission. To be credible for a comparable requirement, a supplier would need demonstrable expertise in post-excavation work and the ability to bring an existing archaeological project through to an appropriate, publishable and properly archived conclusion. The award rationale also shows the commercial importance of continuity: first-hand knowledge of the excavation and secure custody and curation of the assemblage were central to this commission, alongside access to information that was not yet public. Suppliers with relevant excavation experience, established collections-management capability and a record of producing final reports and archive deposits would be best placed to compete when this site-specific requirement next returns to market.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Completion of Commissioned Archaeological Projects

Notice Description

This Voluntary Ex-Ante (VEAT) Notice relates to the intended procurement for the completion of already commissioned archaeological projects. The contract duration is for a maximum of 24 months.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Historic Environment Scotland (HES) intends to award this contract under the conditions of regulation 33.4.b(ii) of the Public Contracts (Scotland) regulations. Completion of outstanding previously commissioned archaeological projects and ongoing works at the Property in Care of Links of Noltland [PIC304], Westray, Orkney. The original commissioned project was in response to coastal erosion, the final work required is to bring this project to completion, (final reporting and publication if appropriate and archive submission). The contractor lead on post-excavation and currently store the entire archaeological assemblage.

Procurement Information

HES intends to award to the Supplier on the basis that competition is absent for technical reasons. The original commission projects were provided by the contractror who still store and curate the assemblage. Given the nature of the services described in II.2.4 of this notice, the contractor is the original excavators of these sites, their knowledge of what has been found is unparalleled, and as they are not published, the information which another contractor would require to store and manage the collection is not in the public domain at present.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-r6ebe6-0000846203
Publication Source
Public Contracts Scotland
Latest Notice
https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=OCT567046
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
OJEU - F15 - Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Limited
Procurement Method Details
Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

71 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services

CPV Codes

71351914 - Archaeological services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£97,220 Under £100K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
21 Oct 20266 days ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Historic Environment Scotland
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
EDINBURGH
Postcode
EH9 1SH
Postcode Area
Edinburgh
Country
Scotland
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLM Scotland
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLM1 East Central Scotland
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLM13 City of Edinburgh
Delivery Location
TLM65 Orkney Islands
Local Authority
City of Edinburgh
Electoral Ward
Southside/Newington
Westminster Constituency
Edinburgh South

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

EASE Archaeology

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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