cIFA, protector of all that is professional, tries again to to create a closed shop for commercial executives of large companies and those objects called consultants, buoyed up by the enthusiasm of of its not-quite-chartered-yet 'trainee' members.

Sounds like a good excuse for more buns and cake - but only for a few, as only those with paid-for-time-off-work and expenses accounts get to vote ...

(not that there is likely to be any kind of plan for addressing the numerous issues - what for example is a 'non-chartered archaeologist'?)

Actual Hole-dwellers have already said things like this in reply ; " I would vote against going forward just now, until a serious and well thought out proposal was on the table to discuss."

a new 'membership' grade eh? - sounds more like this to me:

https://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=h...mrc&uact=8

I would be interested in getting some analysis of some Skelies done and wondered  what experiences anybody might have had of the process, costs, problems and affects. I am particularly interested in Roman/iron age.

1/3 older...

all the homo trees may be wrong...

bring on Hominid Planet Party II !


(and let June be the end of May)

How can adequate development planning occur when some important commercial sites are neither listed in HERs, OASIS or any other publicly accessible record?

This is no trivial matter - i have personal knowledge of at least 4 non-trivial sites, each with some 'difficulties' in initially planning approval, one nearly 10 years old, excavated under full commercial contracts and planning legislation, for which there is no Report, no deposited Archive, no digital listing, and (rather shockingly) no County Council listing or HER entry.

A 'Desk-Based' survey for the areas would suggest no known archaeology for any subsequent development. Sure, if the friendly Mounty remembers the work, and happens to have time to speak to you, they might remember that some work was done, and perhaps even the most broad archaeological narrative. However this is utterly sub-standard for planning commercial risk, archaeological potential, and in PREPARING ADEQUATE METHODS for heritage mitigation. We need plans. We need assemblages. We need dates. WE NEED THE DETAILS.

Even when a Mounty might have provided this kind of input, there is no guarantee they will, for a variety of reasons (eg generally not wanting to get involved with problems, overworked/under-funded, simple Council power games etc).
In at least one other case, the lack of an updated HER record meant that a 'significant' site was discovered in an area which had been judged 'low significance', but would have been considered 'high' had the previous adjacent excavation (with no public record) had been factored in. The Mounty said nothing. I have personal experience of exactly the same - different County/Company/Site, but same old story...

I am very much first-in-line to defend our Public Services and County Council colleagues, and i put the blame firmly in the hands of the Commercial sector, who still seem to think that County Councils, Museums, and Public Archives will just clean up their mess, essentially for free!

But, this is just not good enough. The Commercial sector will do nothing unless the CCs get much MUCH tougher...i don't see much prospect of that, so what do we do ?

ps: please please please do not mention the Charted Institute of FA...that really will not help us, not unless most of the executive body is severely shaken up...at every turn where the Institute of FA should have helped, it has proved a closed door, dead-end, and total waste of ones time + ink.

Die to failing numbers and security issues, I dropped the old forum...  however, there was so much knowledge contained in these 15 years of rumination, that I was loathe to lose it.   so I dropped it into a basic forum system... 

You may experience difficulty in signing in...  but you can reset your password.  
If you have trouble...  get in touch  ( info@bajr.org )  and  I will help

cheers my anon BAJRite dears

Just updated the BAJR Uni and College courses section .  and added the Glasgow School of Art - International Heritage Visualisation course.   pretty damn cutting edge ...  if not bleeding...  

The MSc course equips individuals with the knowledge and skill sets required to create digital records and visualisations of heritage sites and objects of local, national and international significance.   

Worth a thought!  ( this is one of the growth areas for the future) 

http://www.gsa.ac.uk/study/graduate-degr...alisation/

Afternoon all!

I need a CSCS card for a job but I'm not sure how to go about it. I've not yet graduated and I'm not a member of CIfA. Can I still get the CRO card now then upgrade when I graduate?

Many thanks

congrats to bakewell for breaking through the £20k mud ceiling.

https://historicengland.org.uk/images-bo...urchyards/

It says

Quote:A forward to the report summarises current Historic England recommendations on the installation of new trench arch drainage systems.

Quote:The conclusions of the study are that the impact of trench arch systems on buried archaeological remains seems to be currently under appreciated. Usage patterns of these systems requires greater consideration and greater attention needs to be given to the siting of these systems. Current understanding of impacts needs developing through laboratory tests and monitoring. The production of best practice guidance is recommended.

hosty I think that you have a myfilestore redirect on your system