The questions that are answered in this essay are to assess if the competition within the Swedish system of contract archaeology work as it is formulated in the law, Historic Environment Act (SFS 1988:950), and in accordance with the preparatory work, as well as if the processing and decisions in contract archaeological matters take place according to basic general procurement principles, which could be found in the act on public procurement.This essay shows that the requirement for the procurement of archaeological investigations according to the Historic Environment Act (SFS 1988:950) is not met, as most of the archaeological assignments are procured through direct selection and under lack of transparency.In the market of contract archaeology there is a demand for increased transparency by the investigators, i.g. to avoid that investigators are selected based on distance to the investigation. A national overview of the distribution of assignments in the Sweden is also requested, by the investigators, both from an economic and qualitative perspective. The investigators believe that this type of statistics shall be provided by the central authorities the Swedish National Heritage Board.The result of the analysis showed that competition in Swedish contract archaeology does not work, as it is formulated in the law Historic Environment Act (SFS 1988:950), in accordance with the preparatory work and according to general procurement principles. The Swedish National Heritage Board has not succeeded in demonstrating that the task of promoting increased competition and efficiency within the contract archaeological system in Sweden has been achieved.

Uppsatsen problematiserar 1850-årsgränsen i den svenska kulturmiljölagen (1988:950) och dess konsekvens för bevarande av fasta lämningar daterade efter årtalet som inte får lagskydd. Texten analyserar möjligheten för arkeologiska undersökningar av kontexten kring de fasta lämningarna från nyare tid. Det teoretiska perspektivet betonar värdet kring dessa lämningar. Metoden i uppsatsen är en komparativ analys mellan denna situation i Sverige och Norge. Eftersom det senare landet har ett kapitel i motsvarande kulturminneslag som har möjligheten att skydda lämningar oavsett tidsperiod. Resultatet visar på att 1850-årsgränsen generellt har en påverkan på fasta lämningar nyligen förfluten tid, men bevarandet och möjligheten till arkeologiska undersökningar påverkas även av övriga föreskrifter i lagen och andra faktorer. / The thesis problematizes the 1850 dating provision in the Swedish Historic Environment Act (1988:950) and its consequences for conservation of remains with no law protection, dated later than the year. The text analyzes the possibilities for archaeological research of the context of remains from recent time periods. The theoretical perspective aims to recognize the value of these recent remains. The method in the thesis is a comparative analysis between the situation in Sweden and Norway, because of the latter's chapter in the country's Act concerning the cultural heritage with the possibility to protect remains from every time period. The result is that the 1850 provision has an effect on recent remains, but the conservation and possibilities for archaeological investigation depend on other provisions in the law and other factors as well.