BAJR Conference 2007 - YORK

A call for papers

"Standards - Organising our Heritage"

On 23rd September 2007, the city of York will host the second BAJR Conference in the UK. The venue is St Williams College near the world famous York Minster.

"How to ensure Standards that are achievable and realistic!"

Contributions have already been suggested, and two papers have been confirmed but if you wish to be eligible for presenting a paper or seminar you must formalise the submission using the guidelines below.


Paper:
Topics must be based around the conference theme and policy of presentation, challenge and discussion. Each paper can last up to 20 minutes with 20 minutes set aside for discussion. A digital projector with PowerPoint will be available, though these must be presented to the organisers 10 days prior to the conference to allow inclusion.

The topics should have a clear mission to deal realistically with present and future issues in UK archaeology, whether PPG 16, the role of volunteers in archaeology, Curatorial Standards, Engaging the public, perceptions of archaeology in the media, Health and Safety, Standards in Employment, Standards in Metal Detecting etc.

The start of the conference will focus on what has changed/been achieved since BAJR 06 (see http://www.bajr.org/documents/bajr_conference_2006.pdf)

Each paper will be collated and made available as a document, and so all papers will need to be written in a style suitable for publication.

The main remit of the conference is to take issues often overlooked or not discussed in such open proceedings, and find solutions either through delegate input or by highlighting areas that require further work.

Each topic should therefore be robust and prepared for criticism and disagreement. However, the intention is to spend the following year acting on all the major issues raised, with the hope that the 2008 conference will see positive activity in each area highlighted in the 2007 conference.

Forum Discussion (Otherwise known as Down the Pub!): A Less structured evening discussion on topics to be addressed. Numbers are limited (by the size of the pub!) so to be eligible for this discussion a formal request must be made to the Conference Organisers.

Abstract Submission: Individual contributors of a paper must submit a title and abstract not to exceed 150 words along with the BAJR

(please email to info@bajr.org - marked BAJR 2007 Abstract)

Eligibility: The conference is free to all those engaged in UK archaeology or Heritage (which covers everyone from Curator to Consultant, Digger to Detectorist, Amateur or Academic. Places are however limited to 100 people, and will be on a first come first serve basis. Fifty places have been earmarked for BAJR users and invited guests, so a total of Fifty places are open to any other interested individuals. Please do not book a place unless you are certain that you are able to attend.

Booking should made directly to info@bajr.org - mark the email BAJR 2007

Deadline: The deadline for abstract submission is 15th August 2007.

Contact David Connolly about general conference arrangements.

Contact Information:

Conference Chair
David Connolly
BAJR
Traprain House
Luggate Burn
Whittingehame
East Lothian
EH41 4QA

Telephone: 01620 861643
Email:info@bajr.org

"No job worth doing was ever done on time or under budget.."
Khufu

Greetings all,

Not sure if this is the right BAJR section for this, but thought I would post it here anyway

This has just flashed across my screen and I wondered if anyone would care to shed any light on the situation or even pass comment?

It seems that burial licences are now being refused, see the generic statement below. I am therefore assuming from this statement that removal can go ahead but with Common law Liability, but that no post-ex can take place.?????????


Quote:
Thank you for your application regarding the above site.
This Department has been reviewing aspects of the burial legislation with our lawyers. That consideration is not yet completed, but two points in particular have arisen from the review to date. These are that disused burial grounds legislation applies to burial grounds of any age and that the Secretary of State's powers to impose licence conditions under section 25 of the Burial Act 1857 or to issue directions under the Schedule to the Disused Burial Grounds (Amendment) Act 1981 do not extend to permitting retention, testing, or examination of the remains - or indeed any intervening act which is not directly related to removal or the subsequent reinterment or cremation of the remains.

There are two further points to make here. The first is that it may be that the disused burial ground legislation does not apply to burial grounds which are not on the surface of the land. If so, it may be that such grounds, and the human remains that they contain, are not subject to regulation beyond the common law offence of offering indignities to human remains (if it is the case that this common-law principle would be recognised today).

The second point is that the fact that the Secretary of State cannot authorise scientific examination etc under the legislation should not be taken to imply that such examination etc would necessarily be unlawful.

All these points remain under consideration, and we are considering whether to instruct Counsel to advise on this and other aspects of the burial legislation. I should stress, however, that this is all likely to take some time. You may therefore wish to take your own legal advice on these questions.

In the meantime, we understand the need for your application to be dealt with expeditiously. You may wish to consider whether you can proceed on the basis that the only issue, so far as human remains are concerned, are whether the remains could be removed without committing the common law offence mentioned above. You may also wish to consider informing the Environmental Health Officer for the district of your intentions to see if they have any concerns. As for any retention, examination and testing of the remains, a possible option for the moment might be to rebury the remains in sealed containers capable of preserving them effectively for scientific examination at some later date, should that become a legal and practical possibility. We cannot guarantee, however, that such measures would necessarily amount to compliance with the law.

I realise that what I have set out here marks a departure from our previous practice and introduces unwelcome uncertainty, concerns and potential for delay. Although our legal consideration of the issues is not finished, we are satisfied that we have gone into them far enough to be sure that we cannot continue with our old approach."

Not a lot of progress it seems, taken from LG Employers website:


Local government pay update
Update 5 April 2007
Negotiations between the two Sides of the NJC for Local Government Services continued on Wednesday 3 April in a meeting of the NJC Executive. This followed the NJC meeting on 20 March where the employers had made a 2% offer in response to the trade unions' claim for an increase of 5% or £1,000, whichever is the greater. The trade unions rejected this 2% offer.

There was a frank exchange of views at Wednesday's Executive meeting. Both Sides want to secure a negotiated settlement at the earliest opportunity and will be meeting again soon.

Update 30 May 2007
A meeting of the NJC Executive was held on 21 May.

The Employers were disappointed that it was not possible to reach an agreement but are pleased that discussions are scheduled to continue.

To this end, a further meeting is to be arranged to take place in the near future. As ever, local authorities will be kept informed of any further developments and progress.

News just out: Councils will be allowed to exhume bodies and re-use graves because of a shortage of cemetery space, ministers have said.

Officials will normally be able to re-use burial plots which are more than 100 years old after seeking permission from surviving relatives. But there could be a case for exhuming corpses after just 75 years "where available space is particularly short", said the Ministry of Justice. And families who object to a relative's grave being re-used will be allowed to defer the exhumation for "at least" a generation, justice minister Harriet Harman said.

The preferred way of re-using graves would be a "double decker"-style approach which involves lifting existing remains, deepening the grave and laying a new coffin on top.

Will it be us digging them up? Potentially a lot to be learnt here about taphonomy and post-depositional processes.

Careful, it might be hallucinogEeEe**33nnnn..

This was a popular feature of the moribund digger magazine, and served a very useful purpose.

I would love to see it resurrected, as there are both a lot of good and bad archaeological units out there, and those of us prepared to supply our labour deserve the best information possible about our potential employers.

BAJR is I think now the best known and widely accessed portal in the profession, and I'd like to think it could be used to give a 'users guide' to the companies who employ archaeologists.

I realise there is an acceptable use policy which would prevent specific grievances (and maybe excessive praise?) being aired, but perhaps there is some way units could be compared relatively objectively on this site with the results being made public?

I would suggest (as in the past) a mark from 1 to 5 on the categories of: Training, PPE supplied, Respect and responsibility given to staff, Pay, Sick pay, Paid days holiday, room for advancement, and Site hut banter. Three individual entries would be needed for any particular employers results to be published to rule out any particularly disgruntled or over enthused employees distorting the picture.

The only fair way I can think of is for people to supply info to one person to objectively compile results. I don't know who this person could be to give any results any credibility, but suggestions would be welcome.

Question, is it feasible or sensible to put post ex programs out to tender? Does the archaeological organisation who carried out the field work have to carry out the post ex and dissemination phase? If the developer finds the project to pricey can he or she opt to go elsewhere? Anybody had a similar experience surley the eyes that dug it hold the best info.

But can archaeological organisations also hold developers to ransom with post ex costs.



Close enough for a country job!

A colleague just passed on details of a PhD studentship that he thought would interest me: The Mesolithic of England and the Planning Process. This is one of several PhDs jointly funded by EH where there is a fresh approach to combining the academic with commercial archaeology. This one has supervisors from EH and Dept of Archaeology, York Uni.

http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/arch/Projects/MesoPhD.html

Could this be my new direction in life? Surely, my publication record, including Mesolthic sites under PPG16, would hold me in good stead? Unfortunately not. Despite being able to tick most of the boxes I lack one essential criterion...no masters degree.

I was still curious so looked up the York supervisor's web page. What, no masters for them - a BA and straight to PhD! Oh yes, one of their masters students is researching the Mesolithic and developer funded fieldwork.

I would have thought such criteria in selection procedure approaches discrimination. When I left uni there were very few master degrees. In the meantime I have cracked on in field archaeology, gaining considerable practical and academic experience, producing several publications.

http://www.bajr.org/employment/ukemploym...sp?id=4327



An archaeologist with over 30 years professional experience is seeking either to enter into a new or existing business partnership, or to provide freelance archaeological services, or to find a senior role within an existing business.

I specialise in archaeological consultancy, (including the provision of planning advice, and negotiation with local authority planning archaeologists); archaeological project management; archaeological and local historical research; aerial photographic interpretation; historic map regression and historic landscape assessments; and field archaeology, in particular desk based assessments (incorporating site walkover surveys), watching briefs, fieldwalking surveys, conditions surveys and evaluations.

As a freelance archaeologist, I am able to offer very competitive commercial rates, and would very much welcome the opportunity to tender for commercial archaeological projects.

I am based in both Andover (covering the south of England) and at Lincoln (covering the Midlands and the north). I have a full driving licence and my own transport, and so am highly mobile.

If you are looking for such a person, or would like further information,

please contact Neville Hall MIFA on 07967 636519 or

email at NvHll@aol.com



Heres an opportunity ... Fancy taking a chance in the whacky world of archaeology... join him and enjoy the cutting edge of archaeology



"No job worth doing was ever done on time or under budget.."
Khufu

Please read this new document from SCAUM setting out its policy on minimum pay and conditions

http://www.bajr.org/Documents/SCAUMPayPolicy.pdf

Another step forward

"No job worth doing was ever done on time or under budget.."
Khufu

Can I remind everybody of the AUP.

For the avoidance of doubt I take a fairly tough line when David is away.

Peter Wardle