---
title: "Completion of Commissioned Archaeological Projects"
ocid: "ocds-r6ebe6-0000846203"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-r6ebe6-0000846203"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000846203.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000846203.json"
source: "Public Contracts Scotland"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "Historic Environment Scotland"
published: "2026-10-21"
---

# Completion of Commissioned Archaeological Projects

Buyer: Historic Environment Scotland  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-r6ebe6-0000846203

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## Summary

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.

## Notice

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.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Public Contracts Scotland |
| Latest notice | https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=OCT567046 |
| 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 |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 21 Oct 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £97,220 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Not specified |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | Historic Environment Scotland |
| Locality | EDINBURGH |
| Postcode area | Edinburgh |
| Postcode | EH9 1SH |
| Country | Scotland |
| ITL 1 | TLM Scotland |
| ITL 2 | TLM1 East Central Scotland |
| ITL 3 | TLM13 City of Edinburgh |
| Local authority | City of Edinburgh |
| Electoral ward | Southside/Newington |
| Westminster constituency | Edinburgh South |
| Delivery location | TLM65 Orkney Islands |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | EASE Archaeology |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 71 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services

### Codes

- 71351914 - Archaeological services

## Release History

- 21 Oct 2026 at 01:00 - Award - OJEU - F15 - Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice - https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=OCT567046

## Documents

- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=OCT567046
  Completion of Commissioned Archaeological Projects - 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.

## Notice URLs

- http://
- http://historicenvironment.scot
- https://api.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/v1/Notice?id=ocds-r6ebe6-0000846203

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-r6ebe6-0000846203. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000846203.json.